Reconciliation
by PlagueOfPrague
Summary: Post-Grave. Spike’s spent the past three years raising a young Slayer on the streets of New York. A call from the Council sends them to the Hellmouth - and right into the arms of the people Spike's been avoiding for the past three years.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Reconciliation

Author: Hope

Rating: R for language

Disclaimer: All characters, aside from Hope, are © Joss and ME.

Summary: Post-Grave. Spike's spent the past three years raising a young Slayer on the streets of New York. When a call from the Council summons them to the Hellmouth to help destroy a deadly foe, Spike is forced to face the problems he's been avoiding for the past three years, in particular, a blonde Slayer by the name of Buffy Summers…

----------

"Bloody great…" Spike muttered, catching a glimpse of the three vampires approaching him from the side. Turning, he gave them an unamused look. "Look mates, I'm runnin' a bit late. Let's say we make this quick, 'ey?" Growling, the vamps lunged at him. He caught the first and second in the head with a roundhouse kick and ducked as the third swung at him. Grabbing it's arm as it swung again, he snapped it and hurled the creature into the wall.

"Where's the Slayer?!" The first growled, coming at him again.

Rolling his eyes, Spike socked him in the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. "Right, and I'm gonna tell you anything with an attitude like that." He muttered sarcastically, producing a stake from his coat pocket and plunging it into the creature's chest. Spinning around, he plunged it into the second one's heart as he tried to jump him from behind. "Well mate, just me and you then."

The third vampire scrambled to his feet and eyed Spike nervously. Panicking, it made a dash, trying desperately to get away.

"Now that's just bloody pathetic…" The blonde muttered before hurling his stake after the vamp. It buried itself in it's back and the creature exploded into a pile of dust, his stake clattering to the floor. Sighing, Spike walked over and collected it, placing it safely back inside his pocket. Catching a glimpse of a clock in a nearby store window, he groaned and began to run, his duster swirling behind him as he dashed through the city.

----------

Hope sighed, glancing down at her watch. He was late… again. Letting her arm fall back to her side, she leaned lazily against the side of a building, her eyes watching the bugs swarming around the streetlight a few feet away. It flickered a few times before going out, leaving her to stand in the gloomy darkness of the building's shadow. Sighing, she pulled a stake from her pocket and began to spin it absently between her fingers.

A Slayer.

Most fourteen year old girls wouldn't be caught dead in this part of New York at this time of night, but not her. She stood there, comfortable in her jeans and black hoodie, not the least bit intimidated. The girl stood less than five feet tall and weighed no more than one hundred pounds, but her training had started early and she was one of the strongest beings alive.

Hope had killed her first vamp at the age of ten.

"'bout time you showed."

"Sorry kitten, got a bit tied up." The vampire apologized, sauntering up to the girl.

"Oo, bondage. Always fun." She said in mock excitement.

Spike smirked. "Don't talk like that."

"Aye aye, Cap'n." She said, saluting him. He grinned and threw his arm around her shoulder, leading her back down the dark city street. "So where we off to, oh great one?" She asked, brushing a stray piece of her blonde hair from her face.

"There's s'posed t'be somethin' big goin' down on east ninth." The vamp explained, releasing his hold on the girl and pulling a cigarette from his pocket.

"Big? Big as in what?" Hope asked, walking alongside him quickly as to keep up with his brisk pace.

"Just a bunch of vamps wantin' t'perform some sacrifices and whatnot." He explained, blowing a thick stream of smoke from his mouth.

"Sounds fun."

"Loads of fun, Little Miss." He agreed.

"The tape in the VCR went all wonky t'day." She said out of the blue, flipping her head upside down and pulling her hair into a ponytail as she walked.

"No it didn't…" Spike said in disbelief, looking down at her.

"Did too. It made that weird crunchy noise and when I took it out it was all ribbon-y." She said matter-of-factly.

"Bugger…" The vampire muttered.

"Don't worry, Bleach Boy, I had an extra tape in my room and I used the VCR in the extra room to tape your stupid show." She said with a grin.

"That's my girl." He said fondly, throwing his arm back over her shoulder and giving her a hug as they walked.

"What is it with you and Passions anyway? I mean, it's completely stupid."

"Is not."

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Plus there's Timmy, he's just creepy. Why can't you just wake up for an hour during the day and save me the indignity of taping it for you."

"You're fourteen, you don't have any dignity." He said simply, earning a punch in the arm. "Oh, come off it, you little scamp. I was kidding."

"I know, but with you being a vampire and all I'm required to hit you at least once a day." She said with a nod.

"S'that so?"

"Yep."

"Why was I never informed of this?"

"'cause no one likes you." She replied simply.

"Not even you?" He asked with a grin.

"Nope, I hate you. With a passion." She said sarcastically, nodding.

Rolling his eyes, Spike tossed his cigarette to the ground and pointed to a building. "Tha's it."

"Why can't they perform sacrifices in some nice hotel or something? Why is it always some rundown old building?" Hope muttered, her nose wrinkled up in disgust.

"'cause we vamps aren't the brightest creatures alive…erm, well, you know what I mean."

The girl smirked, pushing open one of the rotted wood doors. "Yes, I've picked up on the whole stupidity factor."

"Thanks luv." Spike muttered, winking at the girl.

"Don't mention it." She said, making her way up an old staircase. Upon coming to the top, she found herself at the end of a long narrow hallway, a dim light coming from underneath a door about halfway down the corridor. She elbowed Spike and pointed. He nodded, walking ahead of her. Giving her a quick glance, he kicked it open, the old wood shattering and falling to pieces under the force of his kick.

"I wouldn't suggest staking yourself." She said, giving him an amused smile as he shouted a string of curses at the falling pieces of wood.

"Don't make me kill you." He warned. She just smirked, following him into the room. "Well now, what do we have here?" Spike questioned, looking around at the confused vampires. He counted off ten, then there were the four human girls bound to chairs in the center of the room. From the looks of it, they were most likely hookers.

"Ssslayer." One vampire hissed, eyeing Hope evilly. He stalked towards her, passing up one of their hostages. The girl in the chair yelled something, but it was muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"You must be the brains of the group." Hope commented, eyeing the large creature standing in front of her. The vampires behind him hissed. She snorted. "Hell, would it kill you to be nice every once in awhile?"

"Hope, vampires." Spike said. "Already dead."

Shrugging, she backhanded the vamp standing before her. The others attacked almost instantly, some going after Hope while the others took to fighting Spike. "Spike, down!" She called, dodging a swing by one of the vamps and slamming a stake into his chest as she stood.

Spike ducked, narrowly avoiding a kick to the head from behind. Swinging his legs under the opposing vamp, he sent him sprawling to the ground. Hopping back to his feet, he nailed another in the jaw with his fist and spun around to kick another. Pulling a stake from his coat, he dusted the two before burring his weapon in the other's chest as it stood.

Hope grinned at the vampire holding her by her shoulders before kneeing him in the groin. He let go instantly and she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backwards, his body impaled at the shattered doorframe. He exploded into ash. Her ears picked up on a muffled scream and she turned to find one of the creatures preparing to slit one of the girls' throats. Pulling another stake out, she threw it, lodging it in the creatures back. The girl screamed once more as the vamp exploded, covering her in ash.

"Hope, catch." Spike called, staking another vamp as he swung another around.

The blonde Slayer turned in time to grab the vamp Spike had shoved towards her. Smashing it's head through a window, she pulled it back out and lifted the window open. Slamming it's head against the sill, she stuck it out the window and closed it quickly, decapitating it.

Spike and Hope both turned to find the two remaining vamps standing in the center of the room, giving them wary looks. Grinning, Hope lunged forward, grabbing the larger of the two around the neck and slamming him to the ground. Kicking up a fallen piece of the door, she staked him and looked up just as Spike finished off the last one.

"Well don't we look all sexy." She commented, noting his vamped out features as she took to untying one of the girls.

"Don't I always?" The vampire remarked, pulling the gag from one girl's mouth. She screamed and he quickly put it back. "We'll take that off last." He said with a nod, his face shifting back to it's human visage.

----------

"This is the last of the blood." Hope stated, handing a glass of the red liquid to the blonde as she flopped down on the couch beside him, a plate of pizza in her other hand.

"We'll get some more t'morrow." He said, flipping through the television channels as he sipped his dinner. Hope settled back into the cushions, watching as he flipped through every channel imaginable, barely catching a glimpse of each station before deciding that whatever was on wasn't worth watching. She sighed, picking the pepperoni off of her pizza.

The phone rang.

She reached over and grabbed it from the stand beside the couch, not taking her eyes from her food. "Hello?" She listened a few moments before rolling her eyes and handing it over to Spike.

"Who is it?" He asked, setting the remote down as he took the phone.

"Travers." She answered simply.

"Oh goody." Spike muttered sarcastically. Both of them shared a mutual hatred for the head of the Council. "Well, mate, seeing as you stopped calling to check in on us last Christmas, I'm assuming this is a business call."

Hope watched as he listened, his face falling. After a few minutes, he hung up. "What'd he want?" She asked, giving the vampire a curious look. He looked a bit shaken, which was unusual when he talked to Travers. Usually the vampire was rather perky after a spout of verbal abuse against the stuffy Englishman.

"Ever hear of the demon Glasya?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Nope." She said simply, munching on her food. "Why?"

"Real big dog, the thing is. Bloody huge wings too." He explained. "Thing incites homicidal tendencies in mortals, makes 'em crave bloodshed."

"So he turns people into serial killers?"

"Basically. Travers said one of the Council's seers saw him coming, wants us to help take 'im out."

"Where, somewhere in the city? Like the subway?" She asked.

"No." He said, his eyes falling. "Sunnydale."

Hope stopped chewing. "The Hellmouth?"

Spike nodded. "Looks like you get to meet your predecessor…" He mumbled, already dreading going back.

"Buffy?" Hope questioned, her eyes twinkling a bit. She had heard of the girl, the oldest living Slayer ever. When she had died at the hands of the Hell God, Hope had been called, but not summoned to the Hellmouth. A year later her and her watcher were captured by a vampire cult. Her watcher was killed, but Hope had been saved. Saved by a newly souled vampire by the name of Spike. She hadn't left his side ever since, refusing to listen to any of the new watchers the Council assigned her. Eventually they gave up and Spike had agreed to fill the position. He hadn't been to Sunnydale in more than three years…

"Buffy Summers." Spike muttered. "The one and only…"

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Spike glanced over at the girl curled up on the seat beside him. She was wrapped up in his duster, sleeping soundly. Had he not been able to hear her heartbeat, he would have sworn she was dead. He'd never met anyone who could sleep as much as that girl. It had been nearly a three day nonstop drive to get this far, and she had slept for nearly the entire trip. Reaching over, he draped an arm across her chest, holding her back against the seat as he pressed the gas pedal down.  
  
"What are you doing?" She whined, stirring slightly.  
  
"Just hold on." He said simply, eyes locked on the road ahead.  
  
Yawning, she craned her neck over his arm to get a better look out the blacked out window. "What are you..." She was silenced as they plowed through the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. The car skidded to a halt. She looked back over her seat at the demolished sign before turning back to him, eyebrows raised in question.  
  
"Welcome to the Hellmouth, kiddo."  
  
----------  
  
"Dawn?" Buffy pulled her keys from the door and kicked it closed with her foot as she walked in. Walking into the kitchen, she found a quickly scribbled note on the counter.  
  
'Went to the Bronze with Will, home by midnight.  
  
Dawn'  
  
Buffy smiled slighty at the messy heart that had been scrawled abover her sister's name. Sighing, she crumbled the piece of paper and tossed it into the trash before making her way to the refrigerator for something to eat. She settled on some leftover pizza, muching on a piece as she pulled it from the box and neglected to heat it. Taking another bite, she made her way upstairs and into her room. Pulling some boxers and a t-shirt from her dresser, she slipped out of her jeans and tanktop and swapped to the much more comfortable outfit.  
  
Her eyes shot to her window, catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. Taking the last bite of her dinner, she walked over and pulled the window up, looking down at the street below. She was losing it. Every now and then her mind played tricks on her and she'd think she'd seen a glimpse of his white-blonde locks, the faint glow of his cigarette, or even the black swirl of his leather duster, although the last was rather impossible seeing as Dawn had thrown his jacket out after his first month's absence. Sighing, she shook her head and closed the window.  
  
Making her way back downstairs, she absently pulled her hair into a sloppy ponytail and went back into the kitchen to clean the heaps of dishes that had accumulated in the sink. Her thoughts went back to the vampire and she sighed, feeling a familiar itch behind her eyes. She never let it become anymore than that, a slight wetness, maybe, but never any tears. It had been over three years and she hadn't cried once for the absent vampire.  
  
Although she had come pretty damn close.  
  
Sniffling, she took to scrubbing the dishes, trying to draw her mind away from the vampire. As usual, even a physical distraction did nothing to interupt her train of thought. She had long given up on being mad at him, although nothing on the face of the planet could make her admit that to anyone other than herself. The way she saw it, she had fueled what had happened between them, putting her just as much at fault as him.  
  
Sure, she had spent the first couple months hating him, but in the months that followed the anger had faded and an understanding as to what he did and why he had left set in. Even though she hated to admit it, she missed him. The relationship they shared, if that's what you could call it, was dark. She knew that. It was twisted, dark, and in every aspect just plain wrong.  
  
But there were also those times when he had come by, not looking for some bump-and-grind action, but just to talk, to see how she was doing, to make sure Dawn was okay. Sometimes she'd sit out back on the porch to think, only to be slightly disappointed when he didn't show up to ask how she was. It was silly, she knew. What reason did he have to come back? She had made it pretty clear that she didn't want him around, and even after what happened, she regretted it.  
  
Rinsing off her hands and rubbing them dry, she tossed the dishtowel on the counter and walked over to the back door. Walking out into the cool night air, she wrapped her arms across her chest and sat down, her eyes scanning the shadows. She knew he wasn't coming back, but it never hurt to hope, right?  
  
Wrong.  
  
Everyday a little piece of her spirit was chipped away, stolen by the lost hope that he would ever come back. There was no closure in what had occured between them, it had just stopped in the middle - no ending. Thinking about it was tearing her apart. She wished she knew where he was, what he was doing. Hell, she didn't even know if he was even alive and that notion was enough to make her keep faith that he would return someday, just so she would know he was okay and so she could say she was sorry.  
  
She snorted. It had been three years and the lack of closure in their relationship still bothered her to no end. "Never a night of peace..." She thought outloud, kicking a small twig off of the step. It landed in the grass, followed by a glowing cigarette butt.  
  
Wait, what?  
  
"Slayer."  
  
Her eyes went wide and she looked up slowly, dreading the fact that this was most likely a new form of torture her mind had come up with. The black Doc Martens, the worn black jeans, the tight fitting black tee, the worn leather duster, the cocky gin... She leapt to her feet. "Spike?!"  
  
Seeing her shocked expression and the hopeful glint in her eyes was enough to mealt his unbeating heart. He smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Hey luv."  
  
"Spike?" She asked again, her voice soft as she walked up to him, her eyes wide in disbelief, slightly teary.  
  
Spike's smile faded slightly as her hand snaked up to the side of his face. He shifted nervously under her touch, unsure what to expect. Perhaps a fist to the nose? Seemed probable...  
  
"Oh God..."  
  
Now that wasn't what he was expecting. Buffy had wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as she rested her chin on his shoulder. It took him a moment to get over the shock before he ackwardly returned the hug.  
  
"Where the Hell have you been?" she whispered into his ear, her eyes clenched shut.  
  
"It's a long story." He replied, reluctant to let her go as she pulled away. "I guess we should..." Her fist slammed into his nose, causing him to stumble backwards. "Ow! Bloody Hell!"  
  
Buffy was able to look pissed off for about two seconds before she flinched, relief washing over her. He wasn't dead and he was here. Her hand went to her mouth as if she was shocked by what she had just done. "Oh God, I'm sorry."  
  
He made face, wiping away the blood now flowing from his nose. "S'alirght, pet. Guess I had that comin' t'me..."  
  
Buffy cringed, pulling his hand away and inspecting her handywork. "God, I'm sorry..." She muttered once more.  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it, it never slowed me down before."  
  
She gave him a grim smile, her eyes falling. "Yeah, guess not..."  
  
Sighing, the vampire ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I know you're prob'ly 'spectin' some big appology speel, and b'lieve me, you deserve it, but I don't really can't do that right now."  
  
Buffy's face fell.  
  
Spike mentally kicked himself. "No. No, I din't mean it like that. I mean I don't have time. Look, Buffy, there's a nasty demon on it's way here and if we don't find a way to kill it fast there's gonna be a lot of bodies to clean up."  
  
"So you only came back because of a demon..." She stated coldly, shaking her head and looking up at the sky.  
  
"Well, yeah, sort of." He muttered before sighing, taking note of her hurt expression. "I missed you, Slayer. I missed you more than you could ever imagine, but I couldn't come back, it wasn't fair t'you."  
  
"And taking off without a goodbye was fair play?" She demanded, her features suddenly becoming stern.  
  
Spike groaned. "No, it wasn't. And neither was what happened 'fore I left. I screwed everything up, I know that, but now's really not the time. I promise you, we kill this demon and I'll stick around s'long as you want and we can talk, 'right?"  
  
"Yeah..." The Slayer mumbled, nodding her head slightly. "Uh, come on, I'll get you some ice for that..." She said quietly, making a vague motion to his bleeding nose.  
  
"Um, Buffy..." Spike said, stopping right outside the door.  
  
Buffy turned to look at him as she threw some ice cubes into a ziploc bag. "Your invite still stands, if that's what you're wondering..." she said softly, closing the freezer.  
  
"No, it's not..."  
  
"Spike?"  
  
The vampire turned to find Hope standing on the bottom step, her left eyebrow raised. Yep, you could tell she had lived with him for the past three years, she had picked up on most of his mannerisms and even held a colorful array of British curses. He held out his arm and the girl walked up to him. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he turned back to the confused Slayer standing inside the doorway. He sighed. "Buffy, this is Hope."  
  
"Uh, hi." Buffy mumbled, giving the girl an odd look before looking back up at Spike, confusion etched on her features.  
  
Running his hand over the back of his neck, Spike continued. "I've been takin' care of the girl for the past three years. Lookin' after her and protectin' her and the like. Well, not so much with the protectin', more like training."  
  
"Training?" Buffy questioned, looking even more confused than she had moments before.  
  
"Yeah, Slayer. She's a.... Slayer." He explained, cursing the limited vocabulary terms used to identify a 'Slayer'. Rolling his eyes, he looked back at Buffy. "Right pet, me and you are gonna have t'start goin' on a first name basis. Havin' two of you 'round is just bloody confusing."  
  
Buffy didn't seem to hear him. She was staring wide eyed at the small girl standing at his side, decked out in some worn jeans and an orange hoodie. "You're a..."  
  
Hope gave her a smile and shrugged. "I guess I was supposed to be your replacement, but that whole not-staying-dead issue kinda screwed things up."  
  
Buffy just shook her head slightly and looked back up at Spike, who still had blood running from his nose. "Oh, uh, here." She handed him the makeshift icepack and stood to the side so they could walk in. Buffy gave Hope an odd look as she walked by before turning back to Spike, disbelief evident in her eyes.  
  
Spike gave her a small smile, understanding - she couldn't believe how young the girl was. "She just turned fourteen a few months ago."  
  
"Fourteen?" Buffy sputtered, shocked. Her eyes went back to the girl, who was standing with her arms crossed over her stomach. Suddenly Buffy felt very guilty about dying, given, had she not died everyone else on the face of the planet would have, but still. This girl, no, this child, was called to replace her. "She's so little..." She whispered, thinking outloud.  
  
"Don't let 'er fool you. She might be small, but she packs a punch that could knock an elephant on it's arse." Spike assured her, trying to break the grim mood, but Buffy still looked lost. He sighed. "Look, luv, as much as I'd love to go into details, that demon isn't gonna sit 'round an' wait for us t'get out lives sorted out."  
  
"He's right. I mean, I've heard like two sentences about the thing and I already don't like it." Hope added with a shrug.  
  
Buffy sighed. "Yeah, demon..." She muttered, shaking her head slightly. "Come on, we'll go sit down."  
  
Spike nodded, following her into the living room. "Ever hear of Glasya?" He asked, taking a seat on the couch.  
  
"No." Buffy answered simply, having perched herself ontop of the coffee table. She watched as Hope sat down next to the vampire and stuck her hand into his coat pocket, pulling out a pack of gum.  
  
"Want a piece?" She asked, looking over at the older Slayer as she shoved a piece in her mouth.  
  
"No thanks..." Buffy muttered, not taking her eyes off of Spike. Something wasn't right. There was something about the vampire that shouldn't be there... "Spike, how the Hell did you get your coat?!" she snapped. "Dawn got rid of that thing years ago."  
  
Spike smirked. "She sent it to me."  
  
Buffy shot up from her seat and glared at him. "She knew where you were?!"  
  
"Look, I sent the girl a letter from a friend's place to tell her I was sorry. I told her that if she wanted to write back, she had about two weeks to send a letter before I left there. She sent the jacket instead."  
  
"So you wrote her but not me?" Buffy snapped. Spike shot up from his seat, annoyed. Hope just looked between the two, not saying a word.  
  
"I didn't leave because of her, Slayer. I needed her t'know that." He said defensively. "I needed her t'know I was sorry."  
  
"But you left because of me." She said flatly, her eyes cold. "So no need for appologies, right?"  
  
"I left because of -me-, because of what I was doing to you. I was killing you, Buffy. You said it yourself."  
  
"And leaving was supposed to make it better? Because it didn't." She barked, dropping her eyes to the ground. "It didn't..."  
  
Spike closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as he ran his hand over his face. "I didn't come here lookin' for forgivness, luv. I don't deserve it, I know that. And you have ev'ry right to be pissed off after what I pulled, but can we just forget that for a bit and focus on the more prominent problem?"  
  
"Fine." She spat. "I'm going to go change. We'll go get Dawn and Willow from the Bronze and head over to the shop. Something tells me tonights gonna be dubbed an official research night."  
  
Spike nodded and sat back down, watching as she walked towards the stairs. She halted, but didn't look back. "And I'm pretty sure our fucked up relationship qualifies as a prominent problem." She shot hatefully before pounding upstairs.  
  
Spike didn't move.  
  
Hope stared at him curiously, noting the pained look in his eyes. She hadn't seen that there in years. It had been there when she met him, and she never questioned what made him so miserable, but eventually it went away. Before now she had had no clue as to what had hurt him, but now there was no doubt in her mind as to what it was.  
  
Buffy.  
  
She watched as he fell back into the cushions of the couch, closing his eyes. Sighing, she crawled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Tell you what?" He asked, sounding miserable.  
  
Hope remained quiet for a moment, unsure whether or not she actually wanted to answer the quesstion. "...that you love her."  
  
Spike opened his eyes and blinked. "I never said..."  
  
"...you don't have to." She cut in. "You'd have to be blind not to see it, and even then..." She stopped and sat up, looking the confused vampire in the eye. "I have no idea what you two were talking about, about what happened between you. Before now I thought you two had been friends, like you and me, but the way you talk to her... you can just tell, Spike."  
  
----------  
  
Buffy shifted through the clothes in her closet, looking for something to wear. Her face held a hateful scowl, but inside she was relieved that Spike was home. Sure, he had been here for all of ten minutes and had already managed to piss her off, but that was just Spike. To be honest she actually missed their bickering. Pulling out a pink peasant shirt, she scowled and tossed it to the floor. She must have thrown half the clothes in her closet to the floor before she realised what she was doing and stomped her foot in frustration.  
  
"Dammit." She muttered, running her hand over her eyes. Why did she care what she wore? I mean, they were going to research some demon, it wasn't like they were going on a date or something. She cursed herself for being so self-concious around the vampire and snatched up a pair of dark colored jeans and a plain white tee that she had previously discarded. She changed quickly and grabbed her black leather jacket from the back of a chair as she stormed out of the room.  
  
Pulling her arm into the jacket as she decended the stairs, she pulled her hair out of the back and looked over at the couch. She froze. Hope was curled up against the vampire, her head resting comfortably on his arm. Buffy couldn't believe how peacfeul she looked. A Slayer, a Slayer who trusted William the Bloody completely and wholely, not questioning the fact that he was monster, she obviously didn't care. Unlike her. Looking up, she gave Buffy a small smile before standing. Grabbing Spike's hand, she pulled him from the couch and led him towards the door.  
  
Buffy gave Hope a small smile as she walked past and out the front door, but her smile faded as Spike walked by, giving her a wary look. Rolling her eyes, she followed them out the door, slamming it roughly behind her. 


	3. Chapter 3

The trio walked into the Bronze, Buffy and Spike both scanning the crowd for Willow and Dawn. Hope just looked around, having no clue as to who they were looking for. Her nose scrunched up and she scowled at the black X that had been scrawled on the back of her hand before she entered, signaling that she was an alcohol free patron. "Is this permanent marker?" She asked, rubbing at it. They were the first words spoken since the group had left the Summers' home.  
  
"Comes off with rubbing alcohol." Buffy muttered, still looking around.  
  
"Oh good, nice twist of irony there. The anti-alcohol mark comes of with alcohol." She stated with a snort, causing Spike to give her an odd look. "What? S'not like you two are saying anything important."  
  
The girl hadn't really said much, but Buffy noted how she spoke with the slightest hint of Spike's accent, barely noticeable if you hadn't really paid attention. Shaking her head to clear the though, she scanned the crowd once more. "There's Dawn." She finally stated, pointing towards where the girl was sitting. "I'll go get her, see if you can find Willow."  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
The Slayer halted and turned to find Spike with his hands in his pockets, looking rather sheepish. "You care if I go get 'er?"  
  
Buffy paused for a moment, studying him. "Yeah... I mean no. Yes." She groaned and threw her hands in the air. "I'm going to find Willow." She exclaimed before walking off. Hope gave Spike a quick glance and a small smile before taking off after the older Slayer.  
  
"So then he asked me to dance, even after we went through that whole big argument. Can you believe that? I mean, it's one thing to go up to a complete stranger and try to cop a feel, but then to ask her to dance after she reems you? Puh-lease. Guys are such jerks, you know?" Dawn said to the girl sitting beside her, taking a sip of her drink.   
  
"And that line gets so old. 'May I have this dance?' Can you say cheesy romance novel? The only way that would ever be cute is if the person saying it was like, I dunno, some fancy English Noble from the 1800's asking you to a royal ball, you know? Nowadays it's just total cheeseballishness." She continued, poking at the ice cubes in her drink with a straw.  
  
"S'cuse me, Miss? May I have this dance?"  
  
Dawn snorted and rolled her eyes as she spun around to face the person owning the hand now resting on her shoulder. She let out a small gasp and her glass fell to the floor, shattering. "Oh my God..." She launched herself at the vampire, hugging him for all she was worth.  
  
"Hey Nibblet." He said softly, running his hand over the girl's long brown locks as she hugged him.  
  
"God I missed you..." She muttered, making no move to let go of him.  
  
"Missed you too, pet." He said, pulling away from her. He took in how different she looked. Older, obviously. Her hair was slightly curled at the bottom, a bit shorter than it had been last time he had saw her, but it most definitely still qualified as 'long'. Instead of the lip gloss and glittery eye shadows he had grown accustomed to, she had adopted a more grown up look, her lips red and her eyes rimmed in mascara. He noted her smile and grinned. Still his same Little Bit, no matter how grown up she got. "How ya been?" he asked sincerely, tucking a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.  
  
"Good, I guess." she said, still smiling widely. "I mean, wow, a lot has happened since you left and everything. Everything's totally different now, but still the same, you know? It's all kind of confusing I guess. But you're here, right? Like, in the-not-leaving-again sort of way?" She rambled quickly.  
  
Spike gave her a small smile. "We'll see, Bit."  
  
Her face fell. "Oh..." She mumbled, looking down slightly. Chuckling, he pulled the girl into another hug, which she gratefully accepted, burying her head in his chest. "You should have called…" She muttered.  
  
Spike sighed, his chin resting atop the girl's head. "Yeah, I know…"  
  
"We were worried…"  
  
"'We'?" He asked playfully, pulling away from the girl.  
  
Dawn nodded, sniffling slightly. "Yeah, me and Buffy. She kept saying she didn't care that you were gone, but you can tell she was worried. I swear she almost cried when I told her I had gotten rid of your jacket. She said she was keeping it around in case you came back and that throwing out would be rude, even if she totally hated you and you deserved to have your prized coat shredded into millions of little pieces - along with your head. When I told her I got rid of it she just sort of stared at me, said 'oh', and left. She said she was going to get something from Xander, but I think she went over to your crypt."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
Dawn looked sheepishly down at the ground. "Well, I had been over there earlier, cleaning it up a bit, just in case you decided to come back, you know? It was before I got your letter a-and Clem had stopped staying there, so I'd go over to make sure no one looted the place or anything. I remember making the bed, and when I came back later that night, it was all messed up, like someone had been sleeping in it. Buffy's coat was on the floor, but I left it there. I got your letter the next morning and when I went back over there her jacket was gone."  
  
"If you got my letter, why'd you go back over there? I told you I probably wasn't coming home…"   
  
Dawn shrugged. "Well, I figured every demon in Sunnydale would raid the place soon enough. I-I got some of your things, you know, the stuff you might want back? Some books, jewelry, clothes, weapons, a-and a few of those journals you kept."  
  
His face fell.  
  
"I didn't read 'em." She assured him, smiling. "Everything's in boxes in the back of my closet. I didn't want Buffy to find 'em, she'd just get mad, throw it out...ground me."  
  
He smiled warmly, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Thanks, pet."  
  
"What are friends for?"  
  
He sighed, nodding and smiling fondly at the girl as he began to walk with her through the crowd. "Come on, we need t'find Red."  
  
"How come?"

"Demon." He answered simply.

She nodded. "So, how long you been back?"  
  
He made it seem like it was the most thought-worthy question ever asked. "Oh, 'bout two hours."  
  
Dawn gave him a wary look. "Does Buffy know?"  
  
"Yeah, pet, she knows."  
  
"What'd she say? I mean, is she mad at you?"  
  
"When have you known her -not- t'be mad at me?"  
  
"After that thing with Glory." She replied without hesitation, giving him a small smile. "And when mom...when she was sick. She told me about that, you know. About how you tried to make her feel better."  
  
"Did she?"  
  
"Yeah, when we were at the hospital, waiting." she answered, her voice having gotten quiet. "She made me promise not to tell you."  
  
The vampire nodded, sighing as he continued to look for the redhead. "That night...that night was weird, t'say the least. I don't know. She said something t'me earlier, got me right mad. No, more like got me upset, hurt me. Anyway, when I came over, I wasn't there to..." He took an unneeded breath before continuing. "I was going to kill her, Bit. Had me a nice big shotgun, ready to blow her brains out, but then I saw her sitting there on the porch, crying...and I couldn't."  
  
"…she never told me about that. She just said you showed up and tried to make her feel better, as best you could, anyway."  
  
He smirked. "Yeah, guess it was a bit awkward, what with me having a nice big gun and all. Couldn't have been all that reassuring. Plus I was a bit rusty on the whole 'sympathy' issue. Hadn't bothered trying to comfort someone in well over one hundred years."  
  
"You got better." She said simply, earning a confused look from him. "I mean, at comforting people, you got better at it. I don't think I would have gotten through that summer if it hadn't been for you."  
  
He nodded slightly, remembering how hard that summer without Buffy had been.  
  
"I'm glad you're home." She said after a brief pause.   
  
"Wish I could say the same..."  
  
"Hey, Spike!"  
  
The pair turned to find Hope running up to them. "S'matter, kitten?"  
  
"Nothin'. Buffy and Willow are outside waiting, they just wanted me t'come get you two."  
  
"Right, off we go then." Spike muttered. walking in the direction of the door. "Did she tell Red I was here?"  
  
"Yeah. Her response was a bunch of 'oh's', a couple 'wow's', and a quick 'Are you alright?'" Hope said informatively, nodding her head. Her gaze went up to Dawn, who was still firmly attached to Spike's arm, giving her a questioning look. "Hi."  
  
"Hi?" Dawn offered, looking back up at Spike.  
  
"Long story. Tell you later." He said simply as they walked out of the club. Buffy and Willow were standing there waiting. "'ey Red."  
  
"Spike, wow. You're really here, as in, like, two feet away. Wow. Hi." Willow rambled, giving him a small wave and a sheepish smile.  
  
Hope raised an eyebrow at the redhead, smirking as she nodded towards Spike. "Wow, you talk more than he does. Quite a feat, there."  
  
"But she still doesn't compete with you." Spike informed the teen. "Your gob doesn't stop for a bleedin' minute."  
  
"Psh, I said like two sentences to you the whole way here." She pointed out indignantly.  
  
"You were asleep the whole time, you nit."  
  
"So, I was still quiet."  
  
"No you weren't. You talk in your bloody sleep!"  
  
"Doesn't count."  
  
"Does too."  
  
"Nuh-uh."  
  
"Guys!"  
  
They both turned to find Buffy staring at them, eyebrows raised curiously at their childish exchange.

"Sorry…" They mumbled in unison, dropping their eyes to the ground. Shaking her head, Buffy turned and began to walk down the sidewalk, Willow at her side. As soon as the Slayer turned away, Spike cast a glare at Hope, who stuck her tongue out at him in return. Rolling his eyes, the vampire grabbed her by the shoulder and gave her a shove in the direction Buffy and Willow were walking in. Giving him a final scowl over her shoulder, Hope took up step behind the two, Spike and Dawn following behind her.

The walk to the shop was relatively silent, aside from the scratchy noise Hope was making as she dragged the point of a stake along the side of a building.. Spike was able to deal with the annoying noise for about two minutes before smacking the girl in the back of the head, earning another scowl from over her shoulder. This time he stuck his tongue out in return, persuading the girl to smirk at him, before retuning the stake to her pocket.

"God, can you two be anymore immature…" Buffy muttered, turning back to Dawn as they halted in front of the shop. "Key?"

"Oh, right." He brunette reluctantly released her hold on the newly-returned vamp, pulling a key ring from the small purse hanging at her side. Tossing the keys to her sister, she returned her grasp to the vampire's arm.

"He's not going anywhere." Hope pointed out, quirking an eyebrow at Dawn and grinning before she walked into the shop after Buffy and Willow. Spike smirked as Dawn released her hold, giving him a sheepish smile before walking in after the others. He followed, closing the door behind him and scowling at the bell jingling above him.

Willow flicked on the lights by the doorway before walking behind the counter and turning the main switches on, flooding the shop with light. 

Spike's face scrunched up as he looked around. "You lot remodel the place?"

Dawn saw a pained look cross Willows face. "No." She said quickly, turning to answer Spike. "We rebuilt it." She explained hastily. Spike was about to further question her, but she cut him off. "So, why don't you tell us what's going on." She prompted quickly, the look she was giving him advising him not to press the issue further.

He nodded a small understanding, casting a quick glance over at Willow as she sat down at the table before speaking. "Yeah, right then. Why don't we call the rest of your silly little club and get them here first so I don't have t'tell this more than once."

Buffy took a seat next to her best friend, her eyes not leaving Spike. "We're all here." She stated flatly, staring at the vampire expectantly.

He gave her a skeptical look. "What about the Whelp and his little demon girl? And Pixie?" The anguish crossing Willow's face answered his last question – Tara was dead. He looked to Buffy for an explanation of the other two, not wanting to distress the redhead further.

"They're gone, Spike. Just talk." The Slayer stated harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. Dawn gave him a small nod as she leaned back against the table, watching him.

"Right then." He said flatly, his eyes scanning the three girls at the table before him. They all looked so different from the last time he had seen them. Sighing, he hopped up on the counter, crossing his legs as he pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket. "Guess we should start from the beginning, 'ey?" He questioned, lighting the cigarette that now hung loosely from his lips and inhaling from it deeply as he looked over at Hope, who was still standing near the door.

"Right, me…" She muttered, looking over at the three girls as she walked over to where Spike was sitting. "Am I tellin' the summary or the extended version?"

"Oo, I like stories." Willow exclaimed, smiling.

Spike gave her a small smirk, glad she was no longer pouting. "Sorry, pet. But I doubt you'll like this story, s'not very pretty." He informed her. Her face fell.

"I take it I'm doing the long version, then." Hope stated, looking up at the vampire.

"Knock yourself out, kitten. The more you tell, the less I'll have t'fill in later." He said matter-of-factly, gesturing for her to begin with a wave of his hand. She rolled her eyes before hopping up and taking a seat alongside him.

"Right then." She said, taking a deep breath as she swung her feet back and forth over the edge of the counter. "It was a dark and stormy night…"

"Don't be a bloody smart ass." Spike growled, glaring at her.

"Your sense of humor died the second we got here, you know that?" She asked, smirking at the vamp. When he didn't respond, she turned back to the Sunnydale trio sitting opposite of her, giving them a quick grin. "Anyways…"


	4. Chapter 4

_Hope clamped her hands over her ears, her eyes clenched shut as she huddled further into the corner, silent sobs shaking her body. Even her feeble attempt at blocking out the horrible sounds around her did nothing to help. A soft whimper escaped her throat as another agonized scream ripped through the air._

_Ms. Cramer, her watcher._

_A violent tremble raced through her as she opened her eyes partially, nervously glancing towards the center of the room. Hot tears raced down her dirty face, causing her messy hair to stick to her cheeks. Her eyes went wide as she watched one of the vampires lift the small woman from the ground by her neck, a wicked grin on his face as she kicked helplessly, trying to get free. The other vamps in the room watched, all grinning, their kills lying at their feet, bodies littering the floor around them. Another sob escaped her throat, drawing the vampire's attention back to her._

_Grinning evilly, the creature lowered the watcher the floor, shoving her head roughly to the side to expose her neck. Hope found herself pressing as close to the wall as she could, unable to peel her eyes away as he buried his fangs into the woman's neck. The small girl held her breath as the creature stalked towards her, still sucking the blood from her watcher's neck. An evil glint flashed in his eyes and he buried his teeth further into her neck… and tore it away._

_Hope screamed as the warm red liquid splattered over her, the woman's lifeless body falling on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She paled as she scrambled out from under her, her body shaking violently as she stood and rushed backwards, slamming into the wall behind her._

_"What's a'matter, Slayer?" The vampire said sweetly, sauntering up to her, his cool hand brushing down the side of her face as she slid to the floor. He caught her by her shoulders, keeping her on her feet. She clenched her eyes shut, shaking her head violently, yet making no move to get away. A shrill yelp escaped her lips as he grabbed her roughly by the hair, pulling her head to the side._

_Her hot tears continued to flow through her closed eyes, leaving soft trails in the dirt and blood caked on her face. She waited for him to bury his fangs in her neck, waited for him to kill her. Instead, she fell to a heap on the floor, his ashes falling to the ground in front of her. Her eyes welled up and she coughed, vomiting the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Gasping for air as her body shook, she scrambled back against the wall, a thin black mist forming at the edges of her vision as she scanned the carnage in the room for whoever had saved her._

_A low growl brought her attention to the opposite corner of the room. She caught a glimpse of a vampire, his yellow eyes glowing, pummeling away at the remaining vamps in the room. She strained her eyes, trying to keep them focused, but failed. Everything went black…_

_Hope shot up, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. Tears fell down her face as her eyes flitted about the room, trying to figure out where she was. She scrambled up from the bed, nearly tripping over the blankets as she slammed into the corner, falling to the floor and burying her head in her arms as she began to cry once more._

_"Hey…"_

_She screamed, scrambling away from the person who now had their hand on her shoulder. Her back smashed into the side of the bed and she watched him with wide eyes as he stood up slowly, his eyes locked on her._

_"Calm down, luv. I'm not goin' t'hurt you." He said quietly, holding his hands up in front of his chest as he took a hesitant step towards her. Her eyes snapped shut and she turned her head away from him._

_"No, no, no, no, no, no…." She whispered over and over, her head shaking._

_"Shhh…"_

_She jumped when she felt his hand running over her hair and pulled back slightly. "Please…"_

_"S'alright, I'm not here t'hurt you. I just want t'help…"_

_Slowly, she peeled her eyes open and turned to face him. She inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide when she recognized the man crouched in front of her. Her body froze and another whimper slipped through her lips._

_"Hey now, pet. Calm down, 'right?" He prompted, plopping down so he was sitting cross-legged directly in front of her. He studied her face for a moment, taking in the fear lingering in her bright green eyes. "You saw what I was, din't you?" he asked softly. After a moment, the girl nodded slightly. He sighed. "Right then, luv. Let's get this straight. I'm a vampire, you know that, but I'm not like those other wankers you saw earlier. I'm not goin' t'hurt you, promise."_

_She continued to stare at him, her expression blank._

_Sighing, he stood. "I'll be right back, okay? We need to get you cleaned up."_

_She watched as he walked through a door, disappearing from sight. Slowly, her eyes drifted down her body, only to be met with the sight of her bloody clothes and large bruises adorning her arms. Her eyes began to water once more, but before a single tear could fall, she jumped._

_"It's just me, kitten." He crooned, sitting back down in front of her. Reaching over, her placed a finger under her chin, gently tilting her head up so she was looking at him. "S'okay, alright? I'm just gonna clean you up a bit." _

_Her eyes continued to stare at him as he ran a wet cloth over her face, trying to wipe away some of the blood and dirt caked there. He looked down at her as he finished, giving her a small smile as he tossed the washcloth to the floor behind him._

_"You alright?"_

_She didn't move, her eyes still locked with his._

_"Come on, pet. You're gonna have t'help me out a bit here." He said, scooting a little closer. "Come on now, I'm not gonna hurt you, remember?"_

_She gave him a slight nod._

_"Wha's your name?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he studied the girl._

_"Hope…" She whispered, almost unaudibly._

_"I'm Spike." He said softly, giving her a slight smile._

_All she could think to do was nod, her eyes falling to the floor as tears began to brim in them once more._

_"Hey now, none of that..." Her body tensed when she felt his hand on her shoulder, but she relaxed a bit as she looked up to meet his concerned gaze. Sniffling, she crawled into his lap, burying her head in his chest as she began to sob. "Shhh, s'alright now, luv. S'okay…" He whispered, wrapping his arms around her, rocking back and forth slightly. "S'alright…"_

_"You hungry, kitten?"_

_Hope shook her head, watching as Spike sat down on the bed beside her._

_"You sure? I can go get you some doughnuts or somethin'." He suggested._

_"I'm fine." She assured him, giving him a small smile as she wrapped her arms tightly around the pillow in her arms._

_"Suit yourself, but you should eat somthin'."_

_"I'm still full from the three hotdogs you made me eat last night." She said with a smirk._

_"Whatever you say, sweets. I'm goin' t'get me some food." He stated, standing and heading towards the bedroom door. He halted just outside the doorway as the doorbell rang, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the girl before heading downstairs._

_Hope sighed, throwing the blankets away and standing. Yawning, she made her way across the room and flicked the television sitting on the dresser on. Flipping through the channels, she settled on some Loony Tunes reruns and plopped back down on the bed, drawing her arms around her knees._

_"Hope?" _

_Her eyes shot to the door. Spike was standing there, a woman with curly red hair and thick glasses standing behind him. She swallowed, looking away from her and up at the vampire for an explanation._

_"S'alright, luv." He assured her, taking a few steps into the room. "She's from the Council."_

_That's all it took. Hope shot up, nearly tripping as she stood on the bed, backing towards the wall._

_"Get your things together, you're coming with me." The woman said flatly, making no move to even enter the room._

_Spike glared at her over his shoulder, shaking his head at her lack of sympathy for the girl. Sighing, he turned and walked towards the bed. "Come on, pet." He coaxed, offering her his hand._

_She shook her head, wrapping her arms around her stomach, clutching the sides of the black t-shirt she was wearing. It was Spike's, yes, and it fell slightly past her knees and had served as a makeshift pair of pajamas for the past week and a half. "I don't want to…"_

_"Don't have much of a choice, I'm afraid. They won't let nothin' happen t'you, I promise." He assured her._

_"They said that last time…" she said flatly._

_His arm fell to his side. "Yeah, guess they did, din't they?" She nodded. Sighing, he turned back to the woman standing in the doorway. "Where you takin' her?"_

_"I'm not at liberty to say."_

_"Bollocks. Where the Hell are you takin' her?" He demanded._

_"I've told you, I'm not…"_

_Spike growled, slamming his hand against the doorframe just beside her head. "Tell me or she ain't goin' anywhere."_

_She swallowed, glaring coldly at the vampire in front of her. Her eyes fell to Hope, who had hopped off the bed and was now standing behind him, her eyes wide. Turning back to the blonde vampire, the woman relented. "London."_

_Spike gave her a small nod and turned to look down at the girl behind him. Hope shook her head. "I don't wanna go…"_

_"I know, kitten." He said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder as he tuned back to the woman. "What for?"_

_"Training."_

_The vampire snorted. "Training? She's barely eleven years old, how the Hell do you expect her to face a vampire? This is bloody ridiculous. You sodding watchers have gone off your nut, you know that?"_

_"She is to be trained at the Headquarters until she turns sixteen, when she will be assigned a permanent watcher."_

_"So you're gonna lock 'er up for five years, that it?" He asked harshly._

_"We will be keeping her **safe** for the next five years." She shot back. "Now if you'll please excuse me, we have a flight to catch in less than an hour." Reaching past him, she grabbed Hope by her shoulder and pulled her out the door._

_"I'm not going with you!" The girl shouted, trying to pull away from the woman's hold as she marched her towards the stairs. Spike stood in the doorway of the bedroom, watching as she took her away. "Lemme go!!"_

_"You have no choice in the matter." She stated flatly, pulling what appeared to be a small gun from her pocket._

_Spike's eyes went wide. "Hey! What the bloody Hell is that?!" He shouted, going after them as the woman pressed it to Hope's neck. She pulled the trigger and the girl immediately ceased her struggling, her knees giving out._

_"It's a sedative." The redhead explained coarsely, shoving the device back in her pocket as she wrapped her arm around the girl's waist to hold her upright and headed down the stairs. She had just swung the door open and was about to step out into the dark streets when a low growl sounded behind her. Spike was down the stairs in an instant, slamming the door shut and glaring at her._

_"Give 'er here." He growled, motioning to the girl at her side. The woman just stared coldly at him, not releasing her hold. Spike's eyes narrowed. "Hope?"_

_"Mmm…" She whimpered pitifully, looking up at him with half-closed eyes._

_"You're not goin' anywhere, 'kay luv?" He stated, his eyes not leaving the redhead. Hope managed a slight nod._

_"I assure you, she is." The woman said flatly._

_"You can take her, ducks, soon as you get rid of me." He challenged, smirking at her._

_"I'm not afraid of you."_

_"All the more fun." He muttered, his face melting into that of his demon. He could hear her heartbeat speed up, her face remaining stoic. Reaching forward, he pulled Hope from her grasp, picking the girl up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, her head falling onto his shoulder. "Now get out 'fore I do something you're not gonna like."_

_Her eyes narrowed at him. "Fine, but let me assure you that this will not be the last you see of us. We will be back for the girl." She said, making her way to the door. "And next time you won't be able to protect her." She called over her shoulder before walking out and slamming the door behind her._

_"Look forward to it." The vampire muttered, shifting the weight of the child in his arms. "You okay?" He felt her nod slightly and sighed. "Come on, let's go get you into bed."_

_"Where we goin'?"_

_"I dunno, thought maybe we'd go nick a few banks and use the money to buy ourselvesa big ole microwave an' fry the entire world. Sound good?"_

_"Yep." Hope said simply, looking around from her perch atop his shoulders as they walked down the dark New York street. _

_"You hungry?" He asked as they walked past a dimly lit pizza parlor._

_"Is that the only thing you ever ask me? My stomach isn't a bottomless pit, you know."_

_"Well 'scuse me, Your Highness. How am I s'posed t'know how much a bleedin' kid is s'posed eat."_

_"I dunno, but just so ya know I don't eat every hour. Like, maybe once every four or five hours or so…I think." Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "I eat whenever I'm hungry, okay?"_

_"Right, how 'bout you just let me know when that is then?"_

_"Can do."_

_"Good."_

_"… so where we goin'?" She asked again, breaking the silence that had fallen._

_He looked up at the girl, who was now leaning forward, her blonde hair falling in front of his face. "Well, unlike some people, **I** am hungry. We're goin' t'get s'more blood, and I think we're out of Dorito's, so we'll have t'pick s'more of them up too."_

_"Y'know, before I met you I didn't think vampires ain't real food."_

_"Most don't."_

_"So why do you?"_

_"I'm just weird."_

_"And then the clouds parted and God's voice boomed down upon us all." She said sarcastically. "Y'know what he said?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Duh."_

_The vampire smirked. "If I din't know any better, I'd say you'd just insulted me."_

_"Only a lil bit."_

_"You know, s'not very wise to insult the Big Bad." He advised playfully._

_"There's a Big Bad 'round here? Where?" She asked excitedly, grinning._

_"Remind me 'kill you later."_

_"Check."_

_"William."_

_The vampire halted, turning to face the voice that had come from behind him. "Ow! Bloody Hell girl, leggo." He whined, swatting a hand up at Hope. _

_"Sorry…" She muttered, releasing her hold on his hair, her hands having grabbed at it the second she saw the group behind them._

_"What the Hell do you want?" Spike demanded, pulling a cigarette from his pocket._

_"I told you. We're here for the girl." The redheaded woman said flatly. Four other men stood behind her, all dressed in suits, their eyes locked on the vampire and the Slayer sitting on his shoulders. "I'd suggest you release her before we're forced to take more drastic measures."_

_"Drastic?" He questioned, smirking as he lit up his cigarette. "Please. I've dealt with you lot before. 'Drastic' is not a thing you do well. Best you can do is tut around pretendin' that those bleedin' books of yours contain the answers to the entire universe. Sorry, but news flash, I'm not daft. You lot can't do piddly t'me. Big Bad here, remember? And don't call me William." He added indignantly, crouching down and sliding Hope from his shoulders. She remained behind him as he stood back up, scowling._

_"You'd be referring to Mr. Giles, correct?" The woman questioned._

_"Yeah, what of it?"_

_"The man was a disgrace to the Council, his Slayer even more so." She stated._

_"You say that again and I'll rip your head from your shoulders." Spike growled._

_"I'd like to see you try."_

_"Don't tempt me." He snarled._

_"No need. Now, hand over the girl and we'll be on our way."_

_"Not bloody likely." Spike stated, flicking the remains of his cigarette to the ground and grinding it out with his boot._

_"I assumed you would be less than willing to cooperate." The woman stated. "Gentlemen?"_

_The four men behind her all shifted, bringing rather large tranquilizer guns into view._

_"Bloody Hell…" Spike shoved Hope back and ducked out of the way as the first man fired, narrowly missing his shoulder. Hopping back to his feet, he ran at Hope, grabbing her by her waist as she stood and making a dash down an alleyway, the girl under his arm._

_"Spike, down!" Hope shouted, her eyes going wide as she watched the men round the corner, guns raised. The vampire listened, rolling to the ground as another dart slammed into the wall beside him._

_"Come on, get up." He demanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the ground. He started to run, dragging her behind him as she struggled to keep up with him. Growling, he tightened his hold on her wrist and pulled her forward, forcing her to the ground beside a dumpster. "Stay there." She nodded, watching as he stood back up, face morphing as he turned to face their attackers._

_"Just give up, William." The woman shouted, rounding the corner behind the four men._

_"Where's the fun in that?" He asked smirking. A low growl sounded in his chest as he lunged forward, grabbing one of the men's guns as he fired, the shot ricocheting off the dumpster Hope was hiding behind. Snarling, he pulled the gun away and smashed it against the man's face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Dodging another dart, he took aim and fired the gun, nailing a second guy in the arm. He slumped to the ground, out cold, his gun clattering to the floor. The third fired, the dart slicing through the sleeve of Spike's jacket. "Oh, now you're gonna get it."_

_The red haired woman watched disdainfully as Spike pulled the gun from the third watcher's hands, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him in front of him as the forth fired. The dart buried itself in the third man's chest and Spike smirked, dropping him to the ground. He kicked out, his boot slamming into the head of the fourth man as he tried to reload his weapon. Grabbing him by the back of his neck, Spike slammed his head into the side of the building before letting him fall to the ground._

_"I believe I've had enough of your games, William."_

_Spike turned slowly, scowling at the woman behind him. She had one of the guns aimed at his head, mere inches from his skull. "Nice work, luv." He commented. "Hope, get out of here, now!" He shouted, his eyes not leaving the woman. There was no response. "Hope?" He asked tentatively, looking past the redhead to where Hope was supposed to be hiding. He shrugged. "Looks like she got away. Pity now, ain't it?"_

_She fired._

_Spike jumped, his eyes slamming shut as he waited for the darkness to descend upon him, pain to shoot through his skull. After a moment, he peeled them open. Hope smiled up at him, tossing the pipe she had just bashed the woman over the head with to the ground. He looked down at the unconscious watcher by his feet and shrugged, stepping over her. "Well, luv, I do believe we we're off to get some food. You hungry?"_

_Hope sighed, following after him. "And the answer is still no, Bleachy."_

"So like, after a couple more tries at takin' me, they finally got the idea that I didn't want to go anywhere." Hope said, hoping down from her seat on the counter. "Spike talked to Travers, and they agreed to let me stay with him until I turned sixteen."

"Talked to 'em? I had t'kick their bloody arses, you nit." Spike corrected.

Hope rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. So he beat the crap outta them until they agreed to let him play babysitter. He convinced 'em that he could keep me safe a lot better than they could, obviously, seeing as he could pummel them into oblivion." She grinned, snorting. "And if they think I'm leaving when I turn sixteen they have another thing coming."

"So they want to stick you with a watcher when you turn sixteen?" Willow asked.

"Not only that, they want to ship me off t'London." She said with mock enthusiasm, grinning. 

"Why? More training?" Dawn asked.

"Well, sorta. They would send me here, but they think you'd be a bad influence." She answered, pointing at Buffy. "They really don't like you."

"I've noticed." The Slayer grumbled.

Hope shrugged. "Anyways, they kept in touch for a few years, you know, making sure I wasn't dead and all. Eventually the checkups stopped and they only called when they had info about some big evil. We got our latest call Saturday night, which brings us here. I'd tell you why and all, but I seem t'know diddly squat 'bout this demon we're s'posed to be killin'." She turned back to the vampire, smiling sweetly. "Oh Spikey, I do believe it's your turn."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Well, I'm sure most of you reading this are Spike fans, so I thought I'd make a slight suggestion. Check out ghostoftherobot.net - it's James Marsters' band's website! They sound awsome!  
  
You can get sound clips here - http://www.14below.com/gotr/4_21_02/audio/ I'm listed as Hope in the band forum. Really hope you check it out!  
  
----------  
  
  
  
All eyes in the room fell on the vampire sitting on the counter, staring at him expectantly. He snorted. "Hell, if you're 'spectin' me t'tell you a bloody story like she jus' did, you got another thing comin'." He stated, hopping down from his seat. "Right, big ole dog demon, has itself a nice big set a'wings. The thing turns people into homicidal maniacs, all wantin' t'kill things and the like. Somethin' summoned it, and no, I don't know how t'kill it. The end."  
  
  
  
"And bravo for Mr. Enthusiasm." Hope muttered, rolling her eyes.  
  
  
  
"Gotta give it to the girl, her story was a bit more, uh, storyish?" Willow said, shrugging. "No offense, of course."  
  
  
  
"None taken'." He muttered, fishing around his pocket for another cigarette.  
  
  
  
"That's it?" Buffy questioned, raising an eyebrow at him as he lit up. "You came all the way here to tell me someone summoned a big dog with wings? I'm pretty sure we could have figure that out all on our lonesomes."  
  
  
  
"I din't come here just t'tell you about it, Slayer. I came here t'help you fight it."  
  
  
  
"We." Hope added, looking up from a book she had begun flipping through. Everyone looked up at her. "We came t'help fight it, not just him. It's that ego thing he has goin'." She shrugged, returning her eyes to the text.  
  
  
  
"So, like, can't we just chop it's head off or something? That usually works." Dawn suggested.  
  
  
  
"Not that easy, Nibblet. Remember that little homicide tidbit I mentioned? You'll go all brutal serial killer 'fore you get close enough t'lay a finger on the thing."  
  
  
  
"Well, if I was all serial killer wouldn't I, like, be all 'grr' and try to kill it?" She asked, making little claws with her hands. Hope raised an eyebrow at her, smirking.  
  
  
  
"Doubt it. S'far as I know, it's victims will only attack humans." Spike said with a shrug.  
  
  
  
"Well, how does it make someone all homicidey?" Buffy questioned. "I mean, does it do it have to bite 'em or scratch 'em or what?"  
  
  
  
"Don't know, ducks." He replied, grinding the tip of his cigarette out on the counter. "Council goons new it's bloody name and that it was big. The rest of the information is stuff I've heard over the years."  
  
  
  
"So we're going on what you know?" Buffy demanded.  
  
  
  
"Looks that way." He said with a shrug. "S'matter pet, don't trust me?"  
  
  
  
The Slayer just shook her head, scowling, and stood, walking over to one of the bookshelves. "Looks like we're researching." She said flatly, tossing some books on the table. "Yay."  
  
  
  
"You know, not tryin' t'be a party pooper or anythin', but shouldn't we try t'figure out who summoned the thing? Or for that matter, if it's even here yet? I mean, Travers did say a seer saw the thing, for all we know it might now even be here yet." Hope said, shoving the magic book she had been reading back on the shelf. "Besides, I'm hungry. Empty belly and books don't mix."  
  
  
  
"And why not?" Spike asked.  
  
  
  
"Fine. So I'm usin' it as an excuse t'go get pizza." She admitted, scowling. "I'll look for bad guys on the way, promise. If I see anyone who looks like they're gonna summon a big dog I'll kick their -"  
  
  
  
"You're not goin' t'get pizza." Spike grumbled, falling down into one of the chairs around the table, propping his boots up. "Now get over here an' read."  
  
  
  
"Uh, Spike?"  
  
  
  
"Wha's up, Red?" He asked, looking across the table at the girl.  
  
  
  
"Does this demon have a name, 'cause, y'know, could be helpful."  
  
  
  
"Oh, right. Name." The vampire muttered, feeling rather stupid.  
  
  
  
"Glasya." Hope chimed, looking back down at Spike. "See, I helped. Can I go get some food now?"  
  
  
  
"Let her go, Spike." Buffy said, smirking as she sat back down beside Willow. "We have about thirty minutes before the pizza place closes and I'm pretty sure we're all hungry. And even if we aren't, this is an all night party so guarentee we will be eventually."  
  
  
  
"See? Even she thinks I should go." Hope pointed out.  
  
  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling her jacket back on. "Come on, I'll take you."  
  
  
  
Hope smiled triumphantly, holding her hand out to Spike. "Okay, Whitey, hook me up with some moolah."  
  
  
  
"Here." Buffy said, reaching into her pocket.  
  
  
  
"I got it, pet." Spike said, waving for her to put her money away. The vampire scowled at the teen standing above him before digging his hand in his pocket, producing some money. "Since it's my money you're blowin', get me some chicken wings."  
  
  
  
"Will do, Cap'n.." Hope stated with a grin, turning on her heal and following Dawn out the door.  
  
  
  
"Be back in a bit." The brunette called over her shoulder.  
  
  
  
"Be careful!" Buffy and Spike called in unison. They blinked, staring at each other.  
  
  
  
"Aww, that was kinda cute. You know, with the whole, like, little sister thing and you both bein' all concerned and all. " Willow commented, smiling. Buffy and Spike both turned to stare at her, their faces blank. "O- Or not." She corrected, slinking back into her chair.  
  
  
  
----------  
  
  
  
"So you and Spike, like, live together?" Dawn asked, looking at the girl walking beside her.  
  
  
  
"Yep." She answered simply.  
  
  
  
"Isn't it kinda weird? I mean, hello, vampire."  
  
  
  
"Not really. Well, aside from the whole sleeping during the day and drinking blood." She shrugged. "Y'get used to it, I guess."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I used to hang out with him a lot and sometimes I'd forget that I was even talking to a vampire, y'know?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I do that a lot."  
  
  
  
"It was kinda weird though. He didn't have a house back then, so we always hung out in his crypt. It's really weird how you can forget someone's a vamp when you're sitting on top of a sarcophagus talking to 'em. I dunno, guess it's one of those things you get used to, or just forget about."  
  
  
  
"So, what, you're like eighteen, nineteen?" Hope asked, looking up at her.  
  
  
  
"Nineteen."  
  
  
  
"So you were like sixteen when you guys hung out."  
  
  
  
"Well, no. He started hanging around when I was thirteen. Before that he just tried to kill me. Anyways, we talked every now and then, but only when I ran into him at Giles' place or something. We talked a lot more throughout the next couple years, and when Buffy died, we hung out a lot. We kept each other going, you know?" Dawn explained. "But when Buffy came back, well, at first she didn't mind him being over or if I hung around him. But then they started to fight and he stopped coming over. I'd go see him every now and then, but it was always kinda awkward because he was always upset about Buffy or something. He wasn't the same."  
  
  
  
"They fight a lot?"  
  
  
  
"Like you wouldn't believe." Dawn stated, smirking. "Even though she's my sister and all, and like, I'm supposed to side with her, I have to say that she had a lot of it coming to her. For a while they we're okay together, I mean, God, they were friends. But after they got together, things got weird. Buffy was absolutely horrible to him, using him, manipulating him, beating him.  
  
I'm not saying Spike didn't play a part in it, but everyone else thinks it's like totally his fault. They refuse to see that Buffy did anything wrong. In the end, that's why he left. He just couldn't deal with her anymore, couldn't deal with what was happening between them. But hey, I can't blame him. He stuck around a lot longer than he should of with everything she was doing to him."  
  
  
  
"I take it there was a real big fight 'fore he left, huh?"  
  
  
  
Dawn cringed. "Sorta, but I really shouldn't be the one to tell you about it. I mean, I don't even thinks he knows I know. It's really complicated a- and I only got Buffy's side, so it's probably all twisted anyways."  
  
  
  
"No big. Not really none of my business anyways."  
  
  
  
Dawn shrugged. "Eh, I'd be a bit curious if I was you too. I mean, you live with the guy and don't know very much about his past, it's gotta be kinda weird."  
  
  
  
"No, I know. He told me all kinds of stories 'bout, well, the stuff he used to do. The only thing he never went into detail about was what happened to him here. He mentioned Buffy, only because he told me that if I wanted to survive I'd have to have a perspective more like hers, you know?"  
  
  
  
"In other words he turned you against the Council." Dawn commented, grinning.  
  
  
  
"Nah, I didn't need his help for that."  
  
  
  
----------  
  
  
  
"Anything?" Buffy asked, watching as Willow closed yet another book and set it back down on the table.  
  
  
  
"Nothin'." The redhead exclaimed, grabbing another volume.  
  
  
  
"Slayer, can't we just call your bloody watcher? He probably has something about...."  
  
  
  
"No." Buffy snapped, cutting him off. "I'm not calling Giles and bothering him over this, we'll figure it out."  
  
  
  
He rolled his eyes, pulling another cigarette from his pocket. "Says you."  
  
  
  
Glaring, the Slayer reached over and pulled it from his mouth before he had a chance to light it. "You're not smoking in here."  
  
  
  
"Already did, pet." He stated flatly as he stood. Buffy continued to scowl as he pulled it out of her hand, heading towards the door. Her green eyes narrowed as she watched him lean back against the outside of the door, sliding down to the sidewalk as he lit up his cigarette.  
  
  
  
"You okay?"  
  
  
  
Buffy's eyes snapped shut and she shook her head, turning back to Willow. "Huh?"  
  
  
  
The ex-witch looked over at the vampire. "It's weird, isn't it..." When the Slayer didn't respond, she looked over, only to find her staring out at him once more. "Are you still, you know, mad at him?"  
  
  
  
Buffy snorted, shaking her head as she slumped back into her chair, rubbing her fingers over her forehead. "I don't know. He just gets on my nerves, you know?"  
  
  
  
"I think he gets on everyone's nerves." Willow helpfully pointed out.  
  
  
  
"Not Hope's..."  
  
  
  
"Well, no. But she's lived with him for three years, she's had time to get used to him and all his annoyingness. Kinda like we can zone out when Dawnie gets all whiney." She added, smirking.  
  
  
  
"That's the thing though. I mean, the way she was talking, it was like he never got on her nerves."  
  
  
  
"He saved her life, Buff. She was just a kid and he was like, her hero. You don't find heroes annoying."  
  
  
  
The Slayer frowned. "Why do you think he did it?" She looked over at Willow, only to find a confused expression on her friend's face. "Why do you think he saved her? Spike's not exactly Mr. Charity."  
  
  
  
"It's not the fact that he saved her that's bothering me, it's the fact that he actually took her in. It's weird. Who's ever heard of a vampire adopting Little Orphan Annie?"  
  
  
  
The pair hushed as the bell above the door jingled, their eyes going up to see Spike walking back in. He stopped, noting that they were both staring at him. "Talkin' 'bout me, 'ey?"  
  
"No!" Willow exclaimed hurridly, shaking her head. "We weren't talking about you. Why would we talk about you? Why do you think we we're talking about you?"  
  
  
  
The vampire smirked, flopping back down in his seat, watching as Willow gave him an innocent smile. He looked over at Buffy, who had reengrosed herself in her book. "Not gonna defend yourself, luv?"  
  
  
  
"Nope." She said simply, not looking up. "We were talking about you." Spike looked back over at Willow, who shrugged and went back to her book. Shaking his head, he grabbed another of the texts and began to flip through it.  
  
  
  
"Oh! I got it!"  
  
  
  
Buffy and Spike immidiately jumped up from their seats at Willow's exclamation. "You found something?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow at her.  
  
  
  
"Well, spit it out, Red."  
  
  
  
"No! I mean, no. I didn't find anything. Buffy, remember those texts we were using at the house last week when that purpley goo demon showed up?"  
  
  
  
The Slayer made a face. "Yeah, why?"  
  
  
  
"Well, I just thought that maybe there might be some information in 'em." Willow explained.  
  
  
  
"That was you're big 'Oh! Oh! I got it'? Red, you really need t'work on showing less enthusiasm when it comes to boring stuff." Spike mumbled, falling back down into his chair.  
  
  
  
"Sorry." She said, shrugging.  
  
  
  
"Don't worry about him, Will." Buffy said, shooting a glare at the vampire. "You're probably right, there's more likely to be information in those books than anything we have here. I'll run over to the house, get 'em, and..."  
  
  
  
"No, I'll go." Willow said simply, pulling her coat on. "I want to change anyway, Bronzing clothes aren't exactly comfy clothes, if ya know what I mean. If we're in for a night of researching, I wanna be comfy." She finished with a nod.  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded, sitting back down. "Be careful."  
  
  
  
"Always am." the girl stated as she walked out the door.  
  
  
  
Buffy immidiately went back to her book while Spike looked around the now empty shop. He turned back to the Slayer, quirking an eyebrw at her. "You do realize we're all alone now, don't you?"  
  
  
  
Buffy looked up, her eyes glancing around. They fell back on the vampire and she pouted, narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't talk to me."  
  
  
  
He snorted, grabbing another book. "My pleasure." He began to flip though it, remaining quiet for a few moments. He looked back up, only to find Buffy still staring at him. Rolling his eyes, he closed the book and set it back down. "What?"  
  
  
  
"Where were you?" She asked, propping her elbows up on the table.  
  
  
  
"I told you, New York."  
  
  
  
"No, before that. I mean, you didn't go straight from here to the Big Apple, did you?"  
  
  
  
He sighed, making note that Hope had made no mention of his soul during her little story. Probably for the best, though. "I had some things to take care of, needed to do somethings."  
  
  
  
"What kind of things?"  
  
  
  
"It doesn't matter." He mumbled, deciding he'd rather be reading the book again. He opened it back up and pretended to be trying to find his page.  
  
  
  
"You went and got the chip out, didn't you?" Buffy asked coldly. He froze, his eyes snaking up to meet hers. "She said you were beating the crap out of watchers, and last I checked, they were human."  
  
  
  
Spike suddenly felt sick. Now she thought he had left just to become a monster again - well, that was his original intention, but that's was beside the point. "No, Slayer, it doesn't work anymore." He said flatly, dropping his eyes.  
  
  
  
"That's why you left?"  
  
  
  
He shook his head. "I left because of us. Then I went..." He clucked his tongue, looking up at the ceiling. "I didn't try to get rid of it, it was a side effect."  
  
  
  
Buffy made a face. "Side effect of what?"  
  
  
  
He looked over at her. She was staring at im, waiting expectantly. "Nothing important, luv." He finally said, his voice quiet. "Don't worry 'bout it."  
  
  
  
"Spike, you can at least..."  
  
  
  
"Slayer, I said no, alright?" He snapped, slamming the book back down on the table. She jumped, pulling back. He clenched his jaw, running his hand through his hair as he closed his eyes. "Sorry, luv. God, I shouldn't have come back here..."  
  
  
  
Buffy watched as he slammed his head down onto the table. She shifted a bit in her seat, uncomfortable by the whole scenerio. "Spike?"  
  
  
  
"What?" He snapped before even realizing he was yelling. Shaking his head, he sat back up. "What?" He asked a bit more softly.  
  
  
  
She stared at him for a minute before shrugging. "I missed you." She mumbled., looking down a bit.  
  
  
  
He smiled slightly. "Missed you too, Slayer." 


	6. Chapter 6

  
  
A/N: Sorry I took so long. Been busy, sick, gone, yadda yadda. I really hate it when life takes up my computer time XD Anywho, short chapter, I'll try to spit another out 'fore I go on vacation next week. Enjoy!

----------

"Oh lookie, picture." Buffy stated, staring down at the book in her lap. Looking up, she found Spike staring at her, eyebrows raised. Rolling her eyes, she set the book on the table and slid it towards him. She watched as he picked it up, studying it for a few moments. "It's just a picture, Spike. Doesn't really provide us with any new info other than the fact that it looks kinda like a Labrador."  
  
"Do you know what this says?"  
  
"Know what what says?" She asked, standing and walking around the table. She peered over his shoulder as he ran his finger along a tiny line of text located under the picture.  
  
"It's in Tragian, an old demon language." He explained, his eyes scanning over the words.  
  
"Well, do you know what it says?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
She waited a moment for him to tell her. He didn't. "You plan on sharing?" She asked impatiently.  
  
The vampire scratched his head, sighing. "Well, basically it says that the bugger has the 'bility t'make whoever -or whatever- summons it invisible."  
  
"Like, see-through type invisible? Or like, can't be hurt invisible?"  
  
"That would be _invincible, Slayer. We're talkin' see-through type __invisible." He stated, tossing the book back onto the table. "This is gonna be fun, 'ey luv?"  
  
"Loads." She muttered, leaning back against a bookcase. "I miss being invisible…"_

"Do you now?" The vampire questioned, smirking.

"Yeah, I mean, it was fun, you know?"

He grinned. "Yeah, it was."

"Dammit, Spike. Is sex the only thing you think about?"

"You brought up how fun it was for you being invisible, not me." He said innocently.

"Yeah, well I wasn't talking about sex, thank you. I was talking about, like, playing tricks on people and stuff. Non sex type stuff."

"So invisible sex wasn't fun?"

She smirked as the phone rang. Walking over to the counter, she picked it up. "Hello?" Spike watched as she listened, her fingers playing with the phone cord. "Yeah, sounds good. Yep. See you in a bit."

"Who was it?" He asked as she hung up the receiver.

"Willow. There's a lot more books at the house than we thought so we're just gonna head back over there. She can't exactly carry 'em all here."

"So I suppose we get to carry the rest of these over to the house." He stated as he stood up, nodding at the unread books on the table.

"Sadly, yes." The Slayer mumbled, stacking some up and putting them under her arm.

"Shouldn't we wait for Nibblet and Hope t'get back?" He asked, grabbing the remaining books.

"Nah, Willow's gonna call Dawn's cell and let her know. They can just meet us at the house." Buffy explained, walking towards the door. She halted, frowning when she realized that she had no free hands that she could use to open the door.

"Problem luv?" Spike asked coyly, shifting the load in his arms over to one arm and using his free hand to pull the door open. Rolling her eyes, Buffy walked out past him, ignoring the smirk he gave her as she walked by.

----------

"Hey." Dawn greeted, holding the kitchen door open as Hope followed her in, two pizza boxes stacked in her arms. "We come bearing food."

"And blood." Hope added, setting the pizza on the counter and pulling a couple packets of blood from the large pocket on her sweatshirt. "Where's Spikey got to?"

"The couch. We were here all of ten minutes before he conked out, so me an' Wills moved the researched party in here." Buffy explained, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Eh, can't blame the guy. He's been up for like, four days now." Hope said with a shrug. "You know, driving and all."

"So'd you guys find anything?" Dawn questioned, hopping up on the counter.

"I found a picture." Buffy stated, pointing to an open book at the end of the counter. Dawn picked it up, examining it. 

"What's it say?"

"Spike said that it was in some old demon language. It says something about the demon having the ability to make whoever summoned it invisible." The elder Slayer explained.

"So, like, we can't find whatever called it now?" Hope asked, making a face.

"Not exactly." Willow began, grabbing another of the volumes that had been set to the side. "This one says that it has the ability, but it can only cloak whoever summoned it if they want to be cloaked."

"Well, why wouldn't they? I mean, hello, invisible. Not much you can't do." The teen stated, shifting her weight and pulling her legs up underneath her.

"Because maybe they don't want to be gone. Whatever the demon does to it's host is permanent. They wouldn't be able to reverse it, meaning no one would ever see them again." The red head explained.

"And most badies like credit for their evil plans, and they can't really get that if no one can see 'em." Dawn added with a nod.

"Right." Buffy agreed, stifling a yawn. "Ugh, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for bed."

Willow cast a glance at the clock on the wall. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty late, well, early."

"Why don't we call it a night. We can go through the rest of these tomorrow." The Slayer exclaimed, standing.

"Sounds like a plan." Dawn agreed, closing up the pizza boxes and walking over to the fridge.

"Uh, I'd give you the couch, but Spike's kinda already taken it." Buffy said, looking at Hope. "Want me to kick him off?"

"Nah. Floor's good." Hope stated. "Just hook me up with a pillow and a blanket and I'll survive."

"You sure? Cause I could always sleep in Willow's room. Big bed and all." Dawn offered. "You could take my room for the night."

"Floor's fine." She repeated, smirking. "Besides, I'm not all that tired, thought I'd watch TV for a bit."

"Fine, you get the floor." Buffy said reluctantly, walking towards the hallway. "I'll be back down with some blankets in a minute."

"Thanks." The teen called after her as she hopped down from her seat. Grabbing the discarded blood packets from the table, she walked over to the fridge and tossed them in. Closing the door, she turned back to Dawn. "I'm gonna run out to the car real quick, grab some things."

"Knock yourself out." The brunette stated.

"I'll try." The teen replied as she walked out the door.

"Well, I guess it's off to Sleepville for the rest of us." Willow said, walking towards the hallway.

"Right behind you." Dawn exclaimed, trailing after her.

"Night guys." Buffy offered as she came down the stairs, walking past her best friend and sister, her arms full of blankets.

"Night Buff."

Sighing, the Slayer turned and walked into the living room, depositing the blankets and pillows she had gotten from the closet on a chair. Her eyes drifted over to the vampire. He was curled up with his back to her, his coat tossed absently on the floor beside him. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed one of the blankets from the chair and shook it open, draping it over his slumbering form. Her eyes shot up and she tensed as the front door open.

Hope walked in, a duffel bag slung over her shoulders. Her eyes fell to the poised Slayer and she smirked. "M'not gonna kill you, promise."

Buffy relaxed, dropping her hands to her sides. "Sorry."

"Don't worry 'bout it." The teen said, tossing the bag to the floor beside the chair.

"Uh, blankets and stuff are there, feel free to sleep wherever. Living room has plenty of floor."

"So I noticed." Hope said with a nod, looking around. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm pretty tired of books. We'll hit the local haunts, see if anything else comes up."

"Sounds fun."

"Oh yeah, loads." Buffy muttered, smirking as she turned and started to walk towards the steps. "Goodnight."

"Night." Hope said absently, grabbing the remote from the coffee table and flicking the television on. After flipping through channels, she settled on watching some old monster movie and tossed the remote back down.

"Don't worry, kitten, I'm not tryin' t'sleep or nothin'."

"That's good, 'cause I wouldn't want to wake you up or nothin'." She replied coyly, grabbing the remaining blanket from the chair and wrapping it around her shoulders. Scooping the pillow up, she walked back over to the couch. "But, y'know, with you being up and all, sharing the couch ain't a problem."

Snorting, the vampire sat up, glaring mockingly at the girl as she flopped down beside him. "Happy now?"

"Eh, I'm stuck next to you, how happy can I be?" She answered, making a face.

"Brat." He said simply, yawning as he slumped down and leaned back into the cushions.

"I know." She stated, grinning.

"If you're gonna be down 'ere all night can you at least turn the bloody TV down?" He asked, his eyes closed.

"Yes your majesty."

"Good girl."

"Aren't I always?"

"No."

She scowled. He smirked, not even opening his eyes. "Butthead." She muttered, putting her pillow on his shoulder and letting her head slump down onto it.

"Gee, pet, love you too." He muttered sarcastically. She remained quiet, eyes locked on the television. Deciding she wasn't going to say much else, he allowed himself to drift back towards sleep.

"Hey Spike?"

He sighed in annoyance. "Yeah?"

"Nothin', just seein' if you were still up." She replied, grinning.

"I hate you."

----------

"Decide to join us?" Buffy asked, looking up from the dining room table as the vampire walked into the room.

"We've only been up for, like, four hours now." Hope commented, watching as the still sleepy blonde ran a hand through his messy hair.

Spike looked between the four girls seated about the room, then dropped his gaze to the tabletop. The books were stacked neatly at one end, untouched, while Uno cards and Pop-Tarts wrappers littered the table in front of them. "And I see you've accomplished a lot in those fours hours." He muttered sarcastically, arcing an eyebrow.

"Books got boring." Dawn exclaimed, standing. "We were waiting for you to get up so we could split up and check around town, see what the other ooglie-booglies are saying."

"Love to, Nibblet, though I don't much feel like takin' a walk in the sun."

"You get to take the sewers, check the more sunless places like Willie's." Willow explained with a nod.

"Oh wonderful, send me after the snitch." He stated, rolling his eyes. "Bloody brilliant. And where exactly are you lot headed?"

"Couple other-worldly oracles owe us a favor, me and Dawn are going to see if they know anything." Willow said, grabbing her coat and heading towards the door.

"I'm going with them." Hope added, following after Dawn. "Buffy's goin' with you."

"What? No I'm not." The Slayer protested.

"'course you are." Hope said simply, grinning. "Can't let the poor guy go on his own, s'not safe with that nasty demon runnin' 'round."

"Then you go with him."

"Nope. I get enough of him at home, you can deal with him for a few hours." The teen stated firmly, slamming the door behind her, leaving a stunned Buffy alone with the vampire. 

She scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"God you're an idiot." She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as she stomped out of the room.

Spike blinked, more than a bit confused. "Uh, right…." Shaking his head, he followed after her. He could hear her clomping around up stairs, so he rounded the corner and headed up after her. "Care to elaborate?" He asked, leaning against her doorframe.

"What?" She questioned, looking up from her seat on her bed as she pulled a boot on.

He snorted, turning and heading back towards the stairs. "And she says I'm the bloody idiot..."

"I'm not deaf, Spike." She called, pulling the second boot on and standing.

"I'm glad for you." He stated as he walked down the stairs.

"At least being deaf would give me a reprieve from your god awful rambling."

"Yeah, pet. I'm the one who rambles." He said, grabbing his coat off the floor.

"Remind me to kill them for sticking me with you." She stated coldly.

"Funny, 'cause I was thinkin' the same thing."


	7. Chapter 7

"So, anywhere else?" Hope asked, looking up at the girls walking on either side of her.

"Not that I can think of. We've hit most of the less hostile demon haunts." Willow said with a shrug. "Buffy and Spike will get the rest."

"Looks like it's back to books." Dawn muttered disdainfully.

Hope shrugged. She was almost certain she could con her way out of researching, she had a knack for getting whatever she wanted from Spike. Just whine, and if that doesn't work, pout a bit. He'd give sooner or later. She sighed, squinting as she looked up at the setting sun. "Those oracles were weird."

"Eh, yeah, but once you get past the green skin and tentacles they're pretty descent people." Willow said with a nod.

"People… with tentacles?" Hope questioned, looking up at her with an amused smile.

"You know what I mean." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but…" The blonde froze. "You guys hear that?"

The other two girls stopped, falling silent. They heard the same thing Hope's delicate ears had picked up on. A quiet, rhythmic clicking coming from behind them, growing progressively louder as it neared. After a moment, the clicking stopped, and suddenly they became aware of a very loud and very ragged breathing. There was warm air blowing far too close to their necks for comfort, and the trio slowly turned.

And screamed.

----------

"You sure that's healthy?" Spike asked, making a face at the greasy burger Buffy was finishing off as they walked.

"I made the things for two years, Spike. They might not be healthy, but they are edible." She explained, crumbling up the wrapper as she finished her meal off.

"No offense, but it didn't _look very edible."_

She smirked. "And this coming from the guy who drinks blood."

"Yeah, well at least…" He was cut off as a sharp scream echoed through the newly descended night. They both stopped, exchanging a quick glance before taking off full speed down the street. They had run nearly two blocks when another scream pierced the night. Spike cringed, recognizing the voices. "This way." He instructed, turning and cutting through someone's front yard. He leapt over the gate leading to the back yard and hit the ground running, pushing through some tall decorative bushes and emerging back in the street. He stopped, looking around.

Buffy slammed into the vampire as she emerged from the bushes, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She looked sheepishly at the blonde as he pushed her off of him, scowling. He climbed to his feet, his eyes still scanning the surrounding area as he offered the Slayer his hand. "You see anything?"

Making a slight face, she wrapped her hand around his, allowing him to pull her up from the ground. "No."

"Bloody Hell…" He growled, stalking up the street, his eyes still flitting about.

Buffy followed after him, keeping up with his brisk pace as she strained to hear anything else. "Spike, I don't think…" They both turned quickly, the sound of voices drawing their attention. A brief second later, Hope rounding the corner, running, followed closely by Willow and Dawn.

Hope didn't break her stride as she passed Spike, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and pulling him into a run beside her. "Running is good." She panted.

"And what exactly are we running from?"

"Down!"

Upon hearing Buffy's voice, Spike grabbed Hope by the waist and took them both to the ground, skidding across the rough pavement. The vampire looked up as four paws slammed into the ground just ahead of them. Hope cringed. "That's what we're running from." 

Spike's eyes went wide and he scrambled backwards, climbing to his feet and pulling Hope up after him. He kept an arm across her chest, keeping her with him as he backed slowly away, eyes locked on the huge beast in front of them.

Buffy, Dawn, and Willow stood a good distance behind them, staring in disbelief at the creature. It stood at least six feet tall at it's shoulders, it's fur glistening black. It's eyes were yellow, splashed with flecks of crimson red. It narrowed them as Spike and Hope continued to back away, stopping when they stood alongside the others.

"What's it doing?" Dawn asked quietly, watching as it sniffed, not making any move to come closer to them.

"I vote we don't stay and find out." Willow answered quickly.

"Don't move." Spike instructed sternly. "You'll just piss it off."

"It's doesn't look very dangerous." Buffy pointed out, tilting her head to the side as she watched the canine. He was just standing there, ears perked up, tail wagging slightly as he watched them. "He looks like a big puppy."

"Yeah, and big puppy's come with big teeth." Spike stated in an agitated tone.

"What's that?" Hope asked, pointing at something metallic hanging from the leather cord wrapped around it's massive neck.

"Rabies tag?" Dawn suggested, shrugging.

"No, it's not flat. It looks like an orb or something." Hope said, taking a couple steps towards the creature.

Spike grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. "Don't think so, kitten."

"Leggo." The teen snapped, pulling away from him. "If he was gonna hurt us he would have already." She said informatively, walking towards it once more.

Spike went to go after her, but was stopped when Buffy grabbed his arm. "Don't move. You'll just piss it off." She stated, repeating his earlier instructions. He scowled, pulling his arm away from her, but not moving any further.

Hope was halfway between the creature and the others when she stopped, tilting her head to the side and squinting at the orb on it's neck. She unconsciously took a few steps closer, bring her mere feet from the beast. It growled, causing her to look up slowly. A sheepish smile found it's way to her face. "Good doggy, nice doggy…" She said sweetly, backing away a bit. A sharp yelp escaped her lips as the canine let out a sudden howl. She slammed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes, trying to block out the noise. The next thing she knew, she was over Spike's shoulder, gripping his coat as he ran, following the others as they made their way quickly down the street.

"Where is it?" Buffy demanded, not breaking her run.

Hope opened her eyes, looking behind them as Spike continued to run. She instantly regretted it. The creature was running towards them, snarling. Her breath caught in her throat as he leapt through the air, heading right towards them. Her eyes slammed shut, but the hit never came. Spike abruptly stopped running, and she slowly opened her eyes. Turning her head, she looked up at what the others were staring at.

The creature was about a block ahead of them, soaring about twenty feet above the ground on massive, flapping black wings, it's form illuminated by the glowing moonlight. After a few minutes, it vanished, leaving the shaken group standing in silence in the middle of the street.

Spike was the first to break the silence, sighing as he pulled Hope from his shoulder and set her on the ground in front of him. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." She muttered, still staring at the sky.

"Alright, does anyone have the sudden urge to kill things?" Buffy questioned, her eyes locked on the sky as well. "Well, except for Spike."

The vampire narrowed his eyes at her, giving her an unamused snort.

"I'm good." Willow muttered.

"Me too." Dawn added.

"Does anyone else have the slightest inkling as to why it didn't attack us?" Hope asked, looking between everyone.

"I'm not arguing for the moment, but I say we get home before it decides to come back." Buffy said, pulling her gaze from the sky. "Come on."

----------

"That it?" Spike asked, pointing to a picture in one of the books. They had gone from looking for information on the demon to looking for information on the charm it wore. Of the little info they had on the beast, nothing was mentioned about it. Hope leaned over from her seat beside the vampire on the couch, peering down at the page. 

"Nope. It's got that swirly little symbol thingy on it. That doesn't."

The vampire regarded her with an unamused expression. "Yeah, we got that. It's round, shiny, and has a swirly little symbol on it. Like that can't be hundreds of bloody charms." He grumbled, returning his focus to the book.

"You, my friend, seriously need t'get drunk or somethin'. You're all grumbly." Hope said, punching him in the arm and grinning.

"And you, my dear, need t'stop bein' a pain in the ass." He replied in the same sweet tone she had just used, smiling smugly. She rolled her eyes, slumping back in her seat and refocusing her attention on the book in her lap.

"Oh! Shiny round thing with a weird swirly symbol!" Willow exclaimed from her seat on the floor, pointing excitedly at the screen of her laptop. Buffy looked up from her chair and Dawn peered over from her seat on the other side of Spike. Hope slid down from the couch, taking a seat beside the redhead.

"Yeah, that's it. So what's it do?" She questioned, looking expectantly up at the witch.

Willow punched a few keys on the keyboard, bringing up a screen of text. "Well, it's basically just your run of the mill magical charm. It can be used for a bunch of different spells and incantations, most having to do with sight. It says here it's most commonly used like an extra set of eyes. You know, whatever is reflected in the orb, the caster can see."

"Like a little spy camera." Dawn offered.

"Yeah, something like that." Willow agreed, placing the computer on the coffee table.

"So, what? The demon didn't attack us because whoever summoned him wanted to see who they were gonna be up against?" Buffy asked, making a slight face.

"Looks like it." Willow said, her eyes still scanning over the text.

"Anythin' else?" Spike questioned, looking bored.

Willow shrugged. "Not really, just where it originated and what it's made of. I'm guessing that's not very important."

"Oh, Prague. Pretty." Hope commented to herself, reading the origin out loud.

"What?" Spike demanded, becoming suddenly alert.

Hope made a face. "I've seen pictures, it's not like I've ever been there."

"No." He snapped, climbing down from the couch. Grabbing the teen by her shoulders, he lifted her easily from the ground and tossed her absently back onto the couch. She scowled. "Bring the picture back up." He said flatly, crouching down beside Willow.

"O-Okay." The redhead muttered, giving the vampire a wary look.

"What's the deal?" Buffy asked, leaning forward in her chair. "You're even grumpier than you were ten seconds ago." Spike turned and glared at her.

"H-Here it is…" Willow muttered, pointing at the screen.

Spike turned back to the computer, looking where Willow instructed. He choked. "Bloody Hell…"

Dawn cringed. "That wouldn't happen to be a good 'Bloody Hell', would it?"

Hope looked down at the vampire and back at the screen. He remained quite, his eyes not moving. "Should we, like, leave you and the computer alone for a few minutes?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Spike?" Buffy prodded, giving him an odd look. Willow just sat their, staring at the vampire beside her.

Hope poked him roughly in the arm. "Hey, earth to loser, you still with us?"

He shook his head, as if pulled from a daze. "What? Oh, yeah…" He muttered. With that, he stood, stalking towards the front door.

"Uh, Spike. Care to inform us as to where you're going?" Buffy asked, an amused expression on her face.

"Smoke." He answered flatly, swinging the door open and stepping onto the porch, slamming it behind him. They all sat there for a minute, staring at the door.

"That was…weird." Willow stated with a small nod.

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked, looking over at Buffy.

"You mean besides the fact that Spike's insane?" The Slayer asked snidely.

"He knows something." Hope muttered, standing and walking towards the door. Buffy stood to go with he, but she stopped, shaking her head. "Just stay here for a few minutes. I'll find out what his deal is." Buffy was about to protest, but Hope cut her off. "Please?"

Sigh, Buffy relented. "Fine. Hurry up."

Hope nodded, pulling the door open. Closing it behind her, she watched curiously as Spike paced back and forth, puffing heavily on a cigarette. "Care to share?"

He stopped, staring out at the street as he took one final drag from his cigarette, flicking the butt out into the yard. He exhaled slowly, sending a long stream of gray smoke into the air. After a few moments of silence, he shoved his hand back into his coat pocket, searching for his cigarettes.

"Hey, hey!" Hope closed the distance between them, grabbing his wrist before he could get the cigarette to his mouth. She stared up at him, confused. "What's going on?"

"Nothin'…" He muttered, pulling his hand from her grasp and dropping it to his side.

She continued to stare at him, disbelieving. "You're shaking." She pointed out, nodding to his hand.

"I'm fine." He said hastily, raising his hand quickly and putting the cigarette between his lips. He lit it quickly, returning his lighter to his pocket.

She scowled, reaching up and snatching the cigarette from his mouth. She tossed it roughly to the ground and retnred her gaze to his, her eyes narrowed. "I'm not stupid."

He sighed, shoving his hands deeply into his pockets. "Yeah, I know…"

"What's wrong?"

"Bad memories, tha's all." He lied.

She dropped her gaze, unsure whether to believe him or not. After a few moments, she looked back up, watching as he shifted his weight, his eyes staring blankly at the ground. Sighing, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder. He reluctantly pulled his hands from his pockets, wrapping them around the girl. "I love you…" She muttered, staring absently at the Summers house.

He smiled slightly, running his fingers through the girl's hair. "Yeah, kitten. Love you too."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Just a small warning. There's a bit of language later in this chapter. The F words used a few times, along with a few other mild curses, but it's all in good fun! :D

----------

Hope stirred slightly, curling up further into the couch cushions. Her eyes lolled open and she squinted slightly, adjusting her eyes. Spike was lying in a chair on the other side of the room, his eyes closed. To anyone else, it would have seemed like he was sleeping, but Hope knew better. The blonde vampire had this strange habit of breathing when he was awake, although it was highly unnecessary. When he was asleep, on the other hand, he didn't, he just looked like your run of the mill corpse.

She watched as his chest rose and fell steadily before sitting up slightly. "When'd you get back?"

"Few minutes ago." He answered simply, not opening his eyes.

She made a slight face, looking over at the clock. "It's almost sunrise."

"Yep."

"You've been gone for four hours."

"Yep."

She whipped a pillow at him, nailing him in the face. He opened his eyes to find her scowling at him. "Where were you?"

He snorted. "Told you, I was going for a walk."

"Yeah, but we were worried."

"We, as in you. Like the others really give a shit."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Christ, Spike, what the Hell is you're problem? Ever since we got here you've been in bad mood mode." She snapped. "They were worried, and I nearly had to pound Buffy into the ground to keep her from looking for you."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.

"Don't look so proud of yourself. She was worried about you, yeah, but she was more concerned about getting whatever information you have about that stupid charm."

It was his turned to scowl, slinking back into the chair. "I told you, I don't know anything."

"Like Hell." She growled, crossing her arms over her chest. "You practically through a tantrum before you took off earlier. I've lived with you for three years, and not once have I seen you so uptight about something. You might be good at some things, Spike, but you're a fucking pathetic liar."

"Watch your mouth."

She sneered and rolled her eyes, flopping back down on her pillow and putting her back to him. "Whatever."

The vampire took a long, unneeded breath, staring at the girl as she turned away from him. This was just great, now not only was Buffy pissed off at him, she was too.

The last time she had been seriously ticked off was about a year and a half ago when the Council sent some skuzzy goon to the city to spy on them and see how they were doing. Travers had informed him that the man would be around, but he hadn't bothered telling her for fear of getting her upset. She was awful touchy when it cam to the Council. Needless to say, she found out about the guy, kicked his ass and put the poor watcher in the hospital for nearly two weeks. After that, she refused to talk to him for nearly two months. She got by by using hand gestures and scribbling small notes on index cards and throwing them in his face. 

She had vowed never to speak to him again and had kept her word… until Christmas.

He had woken up to find her sitting on the foot of his bed, her legs crossed, staring at him. She just grinned when he opened his eyes and asked what she was doing. 'Merry Christmas.'

The vampire found himself smiling slightly as he stared at the back of her head. "You can't be mad at me, kitten."

"Why not?" She asked coldly, still not looking at him.

"Christmas is an awful long way off."

She rolled over and stared at him. "Halloween's in a few months."

He threw the pillow back at her and she caught it, grinning. "So what do you know?"

His smile faded. "I told you, nothin'."

"Bull shit."

"Hey! Say it again and I'll beat you from here to next week." He said in a warning tone.

She snorted. "I picked it up from you."

"Like Hell! How many bloody times have you heard me say 'bull shit'? You're just runnin' you're damn mouth and spittin' out sorry ass 'scuses now." He paused and blinked a couple times, repeating what he had just said silently in his head. Okay, so maybe he did have a slight language problem. He straightened. "Well you don't need to repeat it."

"Sure I do, it pisses you off."

He narrowed his eyes at her and she just smirked. "I'm two seconds 'way from hurtin' you, missy."

She grinned. "Fuck. Off."

He was across the room in a second, grabbing at her shoulders as she pulled her blanket over her head and tried to kick him away. They wrestled for a few minutes, halting only when a light flicked on behind them. Spike turned and Hope pulled the blanket down a bit. Buffy was standing in the doorway, eyebrows raised, staring at them. The vampire straightened a bit, falling back into a crouch on the other end of the couch. "She started it."

"Did not, you stupid oaf!" She laughed, kicking him in the arm.

Buffy just blinked, still staring. "Are we done yet?"

Hope just smirked, falling back into the cushions. "Sorry mum."

"Yeah, sorry mum." Spike chimed.

Buffy made a face. "Okay, it was kind of cute when she said it, but it's just creepy comin' from you."

"Sorry, pet." He offered.

The Slayer touched her fingers to her forehead as if she had a headache, closing her eyes. "Hope, try and get some sleep. Spike, kitchen, now."

Hope just rolled her eyes and fell back against her pillow. She had been asleep for less than an hour when Spike had gotten back and drawn her from her slumber, so she wasn't about to protest to more sleep. She watched as the vampire stood, walking towards Buffy. On his way, he smacked the girl in the head with another pillow, sneaking her a small grin before disappearing.

"What's up, mum?" He questioned, hoping up and sitting on the counter.

She leaned back on the island, facing him. "Spike, what's going on?"

He gave her an odd look before reaching over and grabbing an apple from the basket on the counter. He took a bite. "What are you talkin' about?"

She groaned. "You know what I'm talking about. You know something about that doohickey the dog was wearing and you're not being very forthcoming with the helpful information."

"Look, I told Hope and I told you, I don't know anything." He said in a low voice, opting to look at his apple instead of her.

She made short work of that diversion, though, snatching it from him and tossing it into the garbage can. She didn't step back from where she was standing, inches from him, scowling up at him. "Yeah, pretty much pissed her off when you left."

He rolled his eyes, throwing his hands in the air. "Look, Slayer, you don't know the girl. She talking to me, so obviously she isn't that mad. If she was I wouldn't get a peep out of her 'til Christmas."

Buffy made a face. "What?"

He shook his head and walked past her. "Forget it."

"No." She snapped, grabbing his arm and spinning him back around to face her. "Spike, you came here to help, so help already. What. Do. You. Know?"

He stared right back at her, his eyes never leaving hers. "Nothing."

She narrowed her green eyes. "I'm not playing, Spike. Tell me or we can go back to the old way of doing things." 

He gave her a confused look, she raised a fist. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest. "So spill."

He clenched his jaw, blinked, and turned to stalk away. He made it a whole five feet before she spun him around and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, her fist pulled back. He just stared at her, making no attempt to pull away, putting up no struggle. She swallowed and returned his gaze, her eyes cold.

"You're pathetic." She growled, pushing him away from her. Giving him one final cold glare, she shoved past him and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving him rubbing his neck where the fabric had been held tightly. Swallowing, he closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them, eyeing the clock. He had roughly twenty-five minutes before the sun would be up.

He could make it if he ran.

Turning on his heel, he sauntered back into the living room, grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulders as he made his way back out the front door.

Hope nearly fell on her face as she hopped off of the couch, scrambling to find her shoes and sweatshirt.

----------

The fourteen year old Slayer moved silently through the building, her eyes scanning the massive structure for any signs of danger. As far as she could tell, it was just her, Spike, and one other vampire in the structure. She hadn't seen the other creature, but she could feel it, like a cold prickly feeling on the back of her neck. 

Swallowing, she stopped, crouching behind one of the massive pillars in the main room. Straining her ears, she picked up on a voice. No, two voices. One was Spike's, but the other, the other was female. Eerily haunting, sending chills down her spine. Whoever she was, she was definitely bad news. She couldn't make out what was being said, aside from a few occasional loud curses from Spike. Taking a deep breathe, she dashed across the room and down one of the halls, careful not to make any noise.

----------

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Leave now before this gets nasty."

"You don't want to play with mummy?"

Spike closed his eyes, leaning away from the vampiress' hand as she ran it down the side of his face, her deep red nails brushing against his skin. "I'm not playing, Dru. Get the bloody hell out of here." He growled, opening his ice cold eyes to glare at her.

"Miss Edith misses you, you know. She cries at night. Do you know why she cries?"

"Drusilla, for once in your wretched existence listen to me and try to comprehend what I'm saying." He demanded in an exasperated tone. "Get. Out. Of. Sunnydale."

"I don't want to stay here, it's cold." She whined, sounding like a little child.

"It's California, you daft cow. It's not cold."

The lip came out and she pouted, swaying back and forth slightly. "It's cold everywhere, my love. Mummy knows you've been sick. She's come to make it all better."

He pulled away as she tried to grab his hand. In one quick movement, he had her by her shoulders, pinning her against the wall nearest them. "Listen to me, Dru. As much as I'd like to, I don't want to kill you." He swallowed, looking down at the ground. "I can't."

The dark haired vamp giggled giddily.

He growled, looking back up at her again. "She'll kill you, you know. You and you're new pet. She'll kill you and move on like nothing ever happened. Do yourself a favor and leave while you can, before she figures out you're here."

"My precious Spike…" She cooed, her hands tracing small patterns over his arms.

With another deep growl, he shoved her from his and backed away. "Get out, or next time I'm here I'm going to do something I'll regret…" Clenching his jaw, he turned and stalked back towards the main room of the old mansion.

Hope craned her neck to see him as he walked down the hallway, out of her view. Drusilla? Wasn't that his sire? She was in Sunnydale? She had summoned the dog thing, obviously, but why? Taking a small breath, she stood…

…and screamed.

The sound was muffled as Dru clasped an ice cold hand over her mouth, hefting her from the ground and holding her arms to her sides. "Shhhh. I just want to play for a bit. Perhaps we could have a tea party…"


	9. Chapter 9

Dawn looked up from her cereal as Spike came barreling through the back door, his coat pulled over his head to block out the sun. "How was your walk?"

Letting his coat fall back to his shoulders, he stared at her. "Funny."

"I thought so." She said with a shrug. "So, where'd you go?"

He threw his hands up and shook his head. "What's with the twenty soddin' questions today?"

Dawn made a small face. "Yeah, Buffy said you were being a little less forthcoming with information earlier. I was expecting you to be a bit black and blue from the interrogation."

He snorted, sitting down beside her. "Almost."

"So why aren't you sharing, anyway?"

"Nothin' to share." He said simply.

She looked back down at the remaining Cheerios in her bowl, swatting them around with her spoon. "Yeah…"

He stared at her for a moment. "You don't believe me, do you?" He questioned indignantly.

She looked up at him, shrugging. "Not really."

"Bloody hell. You women are goin' t'drive me up a soddin' wall, you know that?" He exclaimed, standing. "First Hope goes all mini-bitch on, runnin' her mouth off like a drunken sailor, then your bloody sis decides it's time for the latest round of kick the Spike, then backs out cause I'm too bloody pathetic t'even hit properly, and now you're tellin' me I'm a liar! Dammit, Bit, I thought you trusted me? What's next, Red up there cookin' up a truth spell for me?" He demanded, pointing a finger towards the living room and the stairs.

Dawn just stared at him.

"Oh well this is just bloody peachy." He growled, stalking towards the living room. "Red! Get your pixie ass down 'ere!"

Dawn rounded the corner from the dining room as Willow appeared at the top of the stairs, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

"What the bloody hell are you doing up there?" He demanded, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Uh, talking to Xander?" She muttered meekly, pointing the cordless phone she held in one hand.

Spike blinked and slowly lowered his hand. "Oh… you know, suddenly I find myself wishing you –were- brewin' up some truth spell. Tell the Whelp I said cheers, and that he's still a ponce, and…"

"Will, what's going on? What's with all the yelling?" Buffy questioned, walking out of the bathroom, her hair dripping wet. Looking down the stairs, she saw Spike shake his head and begin to walk into the living room. 

Dawn just looked up between her and Willow. "Spike thinks you're going to do a truth spell on him." She explained.

Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes as she made her way down the stairs. "You are such an ass, Spike. Where the Hell did you go? I go upstairs, change, come back down, and you guys are gone."

"I had to…" He blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Do you want me to spell it out for you? You and Hope disappeared, -again-. It would be real nice if you'd wear a bell or something so we know where the hell you are."

He stood from where he had fallen back on the couch, looking between the three girls standing in the doorway. "Hope's gone?"

"Well, yeah, she went with you." The Slayer stated.

The vampire's eyes went wide. "Bloody fucking hell…"

----------

"I'm so going to kill him." Buffy growled to herself, kicking the door to the mansion open roughly and shifting the axe she held to her other hand. She had muttered every possible curse she knew along the way, going on and on to herself about how much she hated Spike Her eyes fell to the corner of the room as a heavy sewer grate was lifted and Spike hefted himself out. She shot him a cold glare before heading down the hallway. He clenched his jaw and stalked after her.

"I knew you'd be back to play. Miss Edith said you'd bring me a present, did you bring mummy a present?"

Spike went to answer, but was cut off as Buffy stepped forward. "Yeah, Dru. We brought you a nice big axe, thought maybe it would look good digging into your neck."

"Buffy…"

"You don't get to talk." She snapped, pointing at Spike. Her predatory eyes turned back to Drusilla, who was standing in the corner, her creepy doll cradled in her arms. "Where is she?" The Slayer demanded, her stance threatening.

"You mean the baby. She tried to hurt me, Spike. Made my eyes hurt."

"Dru, if you've touched a hair on that girl's head I'll…" Spike began.

"I don't want her anymore, she stopped singing." The vampiress whined, stroking the doll's hair.

Spike's eyes widened and he took a threatening step towards her. "Where is she?"

The raven haired vamp pointed absently over to the bed along the wall opposite of her. Buffy and Spike both turned and looked in the direction she had indicated. Sure enough, Hope was on the floor, slumped against the side of the bed, her hands bound tightly to one of the bed posts above her head. Buffy nodded towards her and Spike jogged over, crouching down beside her.

Buffy returned her cold glare to Dru, who seemed to have forgotten they were even there. "Is she alright?" She asked, still not taking her eyes from Dru.

Spike finished untying the teen's hands, grimacing when he saw the deep gashed in her wrist from where she had struggled to get free. He easily hefted her small form into his arms. "She's out cold."

"Let's get her out of here." Buffy said icily. Spike nodded, casting another glare over his shoulder at Dru. "We'll be back to finish this." The Slayer growled warningly, backing away and following Spike down the hallway.

"Hear that, Miss Edith? Our white knight is coming home to play. We can have a party, have cake. Do you like cake?"

----------

Spike came running through the front door, tossing his jacket to the ground, his eyes searching for Buffy. She had carried Hope home, leaving him to make his way through the sewers. He could hear voices in the kitchen, so that's where he headed. "Where is she?"

Buffy, Dawn, and Willow looked up from the island in the center of the kitchen as he burst into the room. Buffy stood, walking towards him a few steps. "She's upstairs in my room."

"She okay?"

"I put some stuff on her wrists, but other than that I didn't see anything."

He nodded slightly and turned, heading back towards the stairs.

"She's asleep." The Slayer shot out, causing him to halt. He stopped, looking back over his shoulder. Buffy smashed her fist into his face, causing him to stumble backwards and into the dining room. "Bastard…" She growled, stalking towards him. "You knew that crazy bitch was here!"

"Dammit, Buffy, I was just…" He was cut off as her fist smashed into his face again, reeling him backwards. He caught the corner of the table to keep from falling, bracing himself against it. Looking past the fuming Slayer, he could see Dawn and Willow staring from the doorway, neither having the guts to protest against the enraged woman.

"Where were you last night, huh Spike?" She questioned harshly, her voice accusing.

He cringed slightly at the betrayal lingering behind her cold words. "It's not what you think…"

"Isn't it?!" She snapped. "God Spike, how many times have you lied to me just to keep your ass out of trouble? Why should I believe you?!"

"I was trying to get her to leave, you stupid…" The next thing he knew, he was being hauled up by the front of his shirt. The Slayer slammed him down on the table, her face mere inches from his, her eyes dark.

"I'm going to kill her, Spike." She stated flatly.

"You think I don't know that?" He asked in a dark tone, glaring at her.

She continued to stare at him for a moment, seething. Finally, she pushed him away, looking disgusted. "You don't want me to kill her, do you?"

"I'm feelin' a bit less strongly about opposin' the idea now, what with her stealin' my Slayer an' all, but, yeah…" He muttered, straightening.

Buffy just shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you. After everything, after we…" She swallowed, narrowing her eyes. "You still love that insane whore…"

"I don't…" He shook his head, taking a few long unneeded breaths. "I do, Buffy. But not like a love you. It doesn't even come close to what I feel for you. It's just, Christ, Slayer, you don't spend well over a hundred years with someone and just forget about it."

"Yeah, but spend four years hangin' 'round Buffy, leave, and forget. You never planned on coming back here, you just wanted to forget."

He looked horrified. "No, Buffy. I didn't come back 'cause I didn't want to hurt you. That's all I've ever seem to be able to do…" The Slayer crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, looking down at the ground. He looked past her and at the other two girls. They nodded slightly, turned, and headed back to the kitchen. Sighing, he took a step towards her. "I still love you, Buffy. I always will."

Her eyes went up to meet his, her features still cross. "You have a pretty funny way of showing it."

He shrugged. "What can I say? M'not very good at all the mushy crap. More of a acts-on-instinct guy."

"If you were acting on instinct you'd be trying to kill me." She pointed out.

"I thought loving you was killing you." He replied grimly. She hung her head a bit and he sighed. "Just doing what I do best, I suppose."

"Yeah…"

They stood there for a long time, neither looking at each other. Buffy shifted on her feet a bit, dropping her hands to her sides. "Spike, I don't think…"

A loud scream echoed through the Summers house.

By the time Buffy had rounded the corner to head up the stairs, Spike was already at the top, rushing into her room. Taking the steps two at a time, the Slayer bounded up after him. She could hear Willow and Dawn's voices following after her. Her socked feet skidded across the carpet as she stopped abruptly in her doorway, her eyes taking in the scene in front of her.

Spike was on the bed, his legs on either side of the girl lying there. He had her hands pinned to the pillow above her head with one hand and was using the other to try and wake her up. She was kick and writhing about furiously, trying to throw him off of her. She screamed again, only this time it came out as more of a sob than a scream. Tears scorched her face as she tried desperately to get him away from her.

Shaking her head quickly to clear her mind, she dashed across the room. Grabbing the girl's hands, she took to pinning them down with one of her and threw her other arm across her chest to try and hold her down. With both of his hands now free, Spike grabbed the girl's face between his palms.

"Hope? Hope!"

"What the hell's wrong with her?" Buffy asked, tightening her hold on the teen's wrists as she tried desperately to pull them away.

The vampire's eyes searched the girl's face frantically, trying to comprehend what was happening. "I don't know…" He muttered helplessly. She screamed again, choking and throwing herself into a fit of violent coughs. He swallowed as he struggling ceased a bit, her body refocusing on trying to breathe. "We need to wake her up." He said quickly.

"How?" Buffy questioned, staring at him. Hope had stopped coughing and was now shaking, pitiful whimpers escaping her lips.

He swallowed again before grabbing the girl by her shoulders and hauling her into his arms. Buffy released her hands and followed as he rushed between Willow and Dawn, who were standing in the doorway. He dashed across the hall and into the bathroom where he slid to his knees beside the tub. He had barely had time to set the girl in the tub when Buffy turned on the cold water and pulled the nob on the faucet, sending ice cold water splashing down over them.

Hope's green eyes shot open and locked on Spike.

She screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

Spike looked up from his seat at the foot of Buffy's bed as the Slayer walked into the room, her hand lingering on the doorframe before she crossed the room, stopping when she stood in front of him.  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"Better." The Slayer answered simply. "I mean, she's still kinda shakey, but at least she's not screaming anymore, right?"  
  
"Yeah…" He muttered, dropping his gaze. Hope had all but freaked out when she woke up, scrambling from the tub and nearly falling down the stairs as she tried to get away from them. No, not them. Him. He'd made his way down the stairs quickly, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back before she could open the front door and run outside. She lost it, screaming, crying, fighting to get away from him. When she finally got free from his grasp, she had dashed into the living room. Buffy had intercepted her, tackling her to the couch and pinning her there. She seemed to calm a bit as she stared up at the older slayer, meeting her concerned gaze.  
  
Then he had walked in. She whimpered when she saw him, fighting to get free from Buffy. She only stopped when Willow had walked in, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him back upstairs and away from the girl. Out of sight, out of mind, apparently. She had calmed down as soon as he was gone, and Buffy had spent the past hour downstairs trying to figure out what was wrong with her. He'd remained in her room, terrified to go down and scare the girl.  
  
Buffy took a seat beside him on the bed, running her hands over her knees nervously. "Willow and Dawn went to the shop to see if they could find something to relax her a bit. She's pretty worked up, got sick a few times…"  
  
His blue eyes locked on the Slayer, questioning. "What happened?"  
  
She shrugged a bit. "Dunno. She's not in a very talkative mood. All I got from her was that she was dreaming."  
  
"Prophetic?"  
  
She shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, it's a possibility, I guess. Slayers are known to have dreams about, well, bad things. I have one every now and then, but the worse thing that happens to me is a wake up a little sweaty and freaked out. I don't go totally skitzo and scream like my head was on fire. Not to mention puking my guts out when I woke up."  
  
He let out a breath and stood, walking towards the door.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
He turned back to face her. "To talk to her."  
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"  
  
It was his turn to shrug. "Have t'see." With that he turned, heading out into the hallway and making his way slowly down the stairs.  
  
Hope was sitting on the couch, wrapped in one of the many blankets that had accumulated in the living room during the past few days. Her hair was a mess, falling in sloppy wet strands across her face. As far as he could tell, she still had her wet clothes on and the blanket was a meager attempt to keep warm.  
  
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he walked into the room, eyeing her carefully. Buffy remained by the stairs, watching. Hope looked up as he walked in, tensed a bit, but made no move to run. He stopped a few feet in front of her, afraid to go any closer.  
  
She gave him a small smile. "Hey…"  
  
He let out a small sigh of relief before closing the distance between him and the couch, falling down to the seat beside her. "Hey kitten." He watched as she gave him another small smile, but she refused to meet his eyes. Instead, she turned her gaze to her hands, which were resting in her lap. "You feelin' better?"  
  
"Little. Still kinda queezy… a bit headachey…"  
  
He smiled. "Red and Nibblet are workin' on that." She nodded a bit, still looking down. "Mind tellin' me what happened?"  
  
She swallowed and looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes. Tears sprang to hers and she looked away quickly, clenching them shut. The next thing she knew, he had pulled her into his lap, running his hand over her back and hair. She felt sick.  
  
"You have t'tell me what's wrong, luv."  
  
She shifted a bit, suddenly feeling smothered by the hug he held her in. It took all her willpower not to pull away, not to run. No, instead she just sat there, her head resting against his chest, unmoving. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, her eyes locked on the wall.  
  
"Come on, pet. You need t'tell me…" He whispered softly, his hand running through her wet hair. She shuddered at the touch, cringing. "What was that all about? A dream?" He questioned.  
  
"Yeah…" She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "No…"  
  
He laughed a bit. "Which is it?"  
  
This time she did pull away, crawling backwards and sitting as far away from him on the couch as she could. She stared at him, tears threatening, but her eyes never left his. "It was you…"  
  
He gave her a questioning look, his head titling slightly to the side.  
  
"I was there, with you…"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Everywhere." She muttered, sniffling as she ran the sleeve of her shirt under her nose. She shook her head before looking back up at him.  
  
And that's when he saw it.  
  
She was afraid of him. Terrified.  
  
She saw the pain cross his face and shot up from her seat. She couldn't take this. She crossed the room quickly, dropping the blanket in the middle of the floor and standing along the wall farthest from him. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she stared at the floor, willing herself not to cry. "I felt it, what you did. Everything you did…"  
  
She chanced a look at him, instantly regretting it. He looked anguished. Snapping her eyes shut, she quickly turned her head back to the wall and continued. "Remember how you used to tell me stories, about you, trying to scare me?"  
  
"Yeah…" He droned, prompting her to finish.  
  
She swallowed, running her right hand up and down her left arm as if she was cold. Well, she was cold, having been dowsed in ice water, but that was beside the point. She was long past worrying about her physical state and was more concerned with her racing thoughts.   
  
"I was there. I watched you kill those people, but I wasn't watching." She slowly brought her eyes to his, forcing herself to keep eye contact. "It was me. Over and over. The torture, the pain, everything you did. It wasn't like I was watching some movie, Spike. It was like you were killing me. I felt everything…" This time she couldn't help it, the tears welling in her eyes made their way down her face.  
  
He didn't move. He didn't blink. He just stared at her, unbelieving.  
  
The girl just shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can't do this…"  
  
Spike's eyes remained glued on the wall where she had been standing. He heard Buffy's voice in the kitchen, questioning as to what was wrong, and then the backdoor slamming. A moment later, Buffy walked back into the room, looking back over her shoulder in the direction Hope had gone off in. "I take it she told you what was wrong." She stated bluntly. She eyed him suspiciously when he didn't respond. "Spike?"  
  
"She's afraid of me…"  
  
The Slayer's brow furrowed and she made her way slowly over to the couch, taking a seat beside him. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean the girl's afraid of me. Terrified." He exclaimed, sounding annoyed.  
  
Buffy swallowed. "Why?"  
  
"Dru."  
  
"Well, duh. We all figured that one out, but what exactly did she do to her?"  
  
"She made her remember. She forced her to see everything I did, to feel it all…"  
  
Buffy visibly paled, remembering all the gruesome stories Giles and Angel had relayed to her before she had actually met Spike. Then she had actually heard some of the stories from him, and they were ten times as disturbing. She couldn't imagine having to witness them, let alone feel them. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Judging by the girl's sudden fear of me, I'd say 'yeah'." He snapped.  
  
The Slayer watched as he hung his head, running one hand through his unruly hair as he clenched his eyes shut. She couldn't help but pity him, which was something she had promised herself she would never do again. Despite her brain's hateful protests, she slid her hand over his, giving it a small squeeze. His head shot up and he stared at her. "We'll find a way to fix this. We'll make it stop."  
  
He managed to give her a small grateful smile, but his heart wasn't in it. She knew just as well as he did that there was no way he was going to sit around and wait for them to come up with a solution. Patience had never been his strong point.  
  
They both turned as the front door swung open, Dawn walking in. Willow was close on her heals, a travel mug from the local donut shop in one hand and two thin leather bound books in the other. She kicked the door shut and followed Dawn into the living room. "I got the perfect thing for headaches and drowsiness." The redhead stated proudly, holding up the mug as she set the books down.  
  
"Coffee?" Buffy questioned, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Xander's donut cup was the only thing clean at the shop." Dawn explained. "There's lukewarm purple goo inside."  
  
Buffy had taken the mug from Willow, sliding her hand from Spike's as she lifted the lid and took a sniff. Her nose scrunched up and she held it away, making some gagging noises. "Oh, God Will! That's disgusting."  
  
"We didn't have any armanni root, so I had to use tylip seeds. Same effect, just a bit less appetizing." She explained with a shrug.  
  
"More like a lot less appetizing." Spike stated, pulling his head back slightly as Buffy tried to get him to smell it. He made a face, grabbing Buffy's wrist.. "Slayer, I can smell it just fine from over here. Vampire, remember?"  
  
She just shook her head, pulling her wrist from his hand and snapping the lid back on. "Here, she's out on the back porch." She stated, handing the cup to Dawn.  
  
"Good luck getting' 'er t'drink it. I can barely get 'er t'drink orange juice in the morning." Spike chirped as Dawn made her way out of the room. He slumped back into the couch cushion, crossing his arms loosely over his stomach.  
  
Buffy looked over at him and couldn't help but smile slightly. He had absolutely no idea how ridiculous he sounded. Who had ever heard of a vampire with paternal instincts?  
  
"S'with the books, Red?"  
  
Buffy pulled her eyes from the vampire and turned towards the coffee table as he pointed. Her face scrunched up. "Where'd those come from?"  
  
"Oh!" Willow snatched the top book up and began to flip through it. Finding what she was looking for, she handed it off to the Slayer, her finger pointing on a few paragraphs of text. The Slayer took it and began skimming over it.  
  
"Giles sent over a bunch of books he got from some wizard in England." Willow continued. "Me and Dawn flipped through 'em really fast at the shop and these two actually had some decent information about Sunnydale's newest Big Bad."   
  
Spike quirked an eyebrow at her as he sat up, peering over Buffy's shoulder and down at the page. "Always good to know that decapitation won't kill something…" He mumbled.  
  
Buffy shrugged, flipping the page. "Works on most monsters…"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Willow picked up the second book as they finished reading over the bits and pieces of text in the other. Buffy looked up, making a face. "So, decapitation, fire, and pointy things won't kill it."  
  
"There goes your shot at killin' it." Spike chimed, earning an unamused look from the girl.  
  
Willow handed the Slayer the second book, ignoring him. "No, but this says that if we find a way to minimize it's power, then it's mystical energy will diminish and then we can poke it with pointy things."  
  
"So how do we squash it's mojo?"  
  
Willow's only response to the Slayer's question was a small shrug. "Don't know."  
  
"Willow? Would putting chocolate syrup in this stuff mess it up?" Dawn questioned, walking back into the room, a bottle of Hershey syrup in one hand and the purple goo in the other.  
  
Spike smirked. "Told you she wouldn't drink it."  
  
"Still, it'd probably be better if she did. She could really use some rest." Willow said, concern evident in her voice.  
  
The vampire rolled his eyes and stood, walking over to Dawn. "Lemme see, Bit." The brunette obediently handed over the Hershey syrup. He stared at her blankly. "Yeah, why don't we go fill 'er up with chocolate, that'll make everything better."  
  
"Oh, sorry." She took the bottle back from him and handed over the mug, giving him a sheepish grin. She turned back to her sister and Willow as he stalked away, making a face. "He's in a bad mood…"  
  
"Eh, this whole spaz-fest has gotten him worked up, he doesn't mean anything by it." Buffy said, shaking her head slightly. "So, we're lookin' for some type of spell now, right?"  
  
Willow nodded. "Right."  
  
----------  
  
Hope didn't move from her seat on the bottom step when she heard the door open behind her. She didn't need to look back to see who it was. A chill ran up her spine, a feeling that was always accompanied by the presence of a vampire. But not this vampire. The feeling made her a bit uneasy and she shifted uncomfortably. Sure, she had been able to tell when Spike was nearby before, but not like this. Her Slayer senses never kicked in around him, she never heard that little voice in the back of her head screaming at her to kill him.  
  
Well, not until today.  
  
The fact that her subconscious was now identifying her best friend as an enemy was irritating. She didn't want to hate him. Drawing in a long breath, she spoke. "If you think I'm drinkin' that stuff, you're mad."  
  
Spike leaned with his shoulder against the doorframe, staying far enough inside to avoid the afternoon's dim rays of sunlight. Judging by the dark clouds looming in the horizon, there was a nasty storm moving in. "It'll make you feel better."  
  
"So would not seeing all that shit."   
  
"We just had this conversation 'bout your mouth last night, did we not?"  
  
"Yes, Daddy."  
  
The vampire smirked, standing up. "So, you wanna come inside and talk?"  
  
"You wanna come outside?" She questioned, looking back over her shoulder at him. That sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach was back, making her a bit queasy. She sighed. "No, I guess you wouldn't…"  
  
He shrugged, watching as she stood and dusted off her pants. After making her way up the steps, she stopped, hesitant to step out of the safety of the sunlight, He continued to stare at her as she stood there, staring at the ground. "Kitten, I'm not goin' t'hurt you."  
  
"I know…"  
  
"Do you?"  
  
She looked back up at him, tears brimming her green eyes once more. Swallowing her fear, she nodded, taking a step over the threshold and out of the light. "Yeah…"  
  
----------  
  
Hope tightened the blanket she had wrapped over her shoulders, staring blankly at the wall on the other side of the living room. She was trying desperately to not to fall asleep, a battle she was readily losing. After talking with Spike for nearly two hours, he had convinced her to drink Willow's purple goo.

She had to admit, the stuff was helping. She no longer felt like she was about to heave up her lungs and her headache was nearly gone. The downside was it was making her tired, and in the past six hours she had developed an acute fear of sleep. She wasn't really in the mood to feel like her best was tearing her apart piece by piece. Literally.

"How you doin', kitten?"

The girl looked up, grateful for the distraction, even if it was killing her that she was suddenly afraid of the only person in the world that cared about her. Simply seeing the vampire made her feel sick again, Fighting back the feeling, she gave him a small shrug, stifling a yawn. "I'm tired…."

He drew in a long breath, leaning away from the doorframe and walking into the room. Crouching down beside the couch, he ran his hand over the girl's hair, giving her a sympathetic look. "You know it's not real, I'd never do anythin' t'hurt you."

She nodded slightly. "Yeah…"

"Look, try and get some sleep and we…"

"No." she snapped quickly, her eyes widening. She looked terrified. Closing her eyes, she shook her head, pulling away from his touch. "No…"

The vampire watched as the girl curled into a little ball, pressing the side of her head further down into the pillow. She looked miserable. Her face was a sickly gray color, dark circles adorning her eyes. She looked worse off than she had when she had had the flu last winter. "Hope…"

"I don't wanna see it again…" She muttered quickly.

"Yeah, I know…"

She finally opened her eyes, looking up to meet his. It honestly took all of her willpower not to look away and start crying. As much as she loved him, she was deathly afraid of him. "Just make it stop, please…"

He just stared at her for a moment before speaking. "I will, I promise."

The teen watched as he stood, stalking down the hallway and out of the room. She felt relieved that he was gone, yet alone. Her red eyes stared blankly in the direction he had gone, focusing on nothing. Instead, she started humming songs, trying anything to keep from sleeping.


	11. Chapter 11

A loud crack of thunder roared outside the Summers' home, making the windows rattle.  The rain had begun to fall in heavy torrents about an hour before and showed no signs of letting up anytime soon.

"Alright, so this is everything we need, right?" Dawn asked, scribbling the last of the ingredients for the spell down on a piece of paper.

"Everything from the shop, we have the rest here." Willow said with a nod, closing up the books they had been using and stacking them at one end of the dining room table.

"So, Dawn, you run to the shop, get everything from there, Will can get the other magic stuff from here, and I'll gather up some weapons." Buffy stated, standing up from her chair.

"Guys?"

The trio turned to find Hope standing in the doorway, looking even worse off than she had earlier in the day. The rings under her eyes seemed darker, her straggly hair falling messily over her face. She leaned a hand heavily against the wall, as if needing the support to stay on her feet. Buffy quickly set the book in her hands down and walked over to her, brushing her hair out of the way and placing her palm across her damp forehead. "You have a fever."

The teen nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess…"

The Slayer turned back to her sister. "Dawn, run upstairs and grab that flu medicine." The brunette nodded and headed out of the room.

"Buffy, I don't have the flu…"

"No, but the symptoms are pretty similar, so maybe it will help."

Hope gave her a halfhearted nod before pointing her thumb back over her shoulder. "Uh, on the news…"

Willow exchanged a glance with Buffy before nodding and walking past her and into the living room. "Come on." The Slayer instructed, placing a hand on the teen's back and leading her back into the living room.

Dawn came back downstairs a few minutes later, a bottle of heavy red flu medicine in her hand. Walking into the living room, she found the three other girls sitting on the couch, eyes locked on the television. "What's up?"

"Seems good ole Sunnydale is choc'fulla vicious citizens. The police have been flooded with reports of fights. So far there have been seven deaths and fifteen people are in the hospital with serious injuries." Buffy explained.

"Looks like our demon is going to work." Willow added.

Buffy nodded, standing. "Alright, we need to get everything together for this spell –now-. We can't waste anymore time." Turning back to Hope, she pointed a finger at her. "You, medicine."

Dawn had already taken the liberty of pouring some of the red liquid into a small medicine cup and handed it over to the girl. "Goody…" She mumbled stubbornly, drinking it down quickly. She made a face as she handed the cup back over to Buffy.

"See? Not so bad." The Slayer stated.

"Better than that purple stuff…" The young girl agreed, earning a small smirk from Willow.

Buffy went to say something, but another loud boom of thunder sounded and the TV and lights flicked off, leaving the house in a gloomy darkness. It wasn't yet night, but the dark clouds outside were doing a pretty good job of blotting out the sun. A flash of lighting lit up the room momentarily before leaving the girls in grimy gray darkness once more.

Buffy frowned. "Well that's just great." Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her sister. "Dawn, new plan. I don't want you out in that storm alone. Get Spike to go with you and try to hurry, we need to get this over with as soon as possible."

Dawn blinked and looked around the room. "Uh, where is Spike?"

There was a momentary silence in the room, the only sounds coming from the raging storm outside. Buffy Willow, and Dawn turned to Hope, looking at her expectantly. She blinked. "What? I thought he was in the dining room with you guys!"

"Dammit Spike." Buffy growled under her breath, scowling. He had disappeared earlier to see how Hope was faring, and hadn't come back into the dining room. They had just come to the logical conclusion that he was sitting out here with her for the past few hours. Evidently not. "Willow, get everything together here, then go with Dawn over to the shop. I'm heading over to the mansion, once you have everything, meet me there."

"What about me?"

Buffy looked down at the blonde on the couch. "You're staying here."

"What? Nuh-uh." She protested, shaking her head and standing up. She performed the action a bit too fast, causing another wave of nausea to sweep over her. She clutched a hand over her stomach and sank slowly back into the couch cushions, looking miserable.

Buffy smirked. "You're staying."

"But…"

Buffy sighed, sitting down on the coffee table in front of the girl. "Look, you're not in any condition to fight and you know just as well as I do that killing Dru and that dog ain't gonna be easy. Besides, Spike would kill me if he found out I let you out in the rain while you were sick." She finished, giving her a small smile.

Hope managed a small smile in return. "I really hate it when he's overprotective."

"Yeah, well Spike has this tendency to be –way- overprotective, so get used to it." Buffy stated, standing. She disappeared into the dining room from a moment, then came back out, pulling on her coat. "Guys, try to hurry."

Willow and Dawn nodded as Buffy swung the door open, pulled the hood of her coat over her head, and made a mad dash out into the pouring rain. Willow turned to Dawn, her resolve face on. "Okay, I'll go get the supplies from upstairs. You find a flashlight, go downstairs, and find some umbrellas."

"Check." Dawn stated, nodding.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Hope called, watching in raw amazement as Willow went upstairs and Dawn disappeared towards the kitchen. She threw up her hands in exasperation, slumping back into the couch. "Lot has their bloody priorities screwed up. Umbrellas…"

----------

Buffy barreled through the door of the mansion, muttering a string of curses that would have made even Spike flinch. Flinging her now soaked jacket angrily to the ground, she stamped her foot and tossed her dripping wet hair back over her shoulder and out of her face. "I hate rain…" She growled, clenching her teeth as she stalked down the hallway.

"We've been waiting for you, my sweet." Dru's singsong voice called softly, hanging eerily in the air. She was standing in the corner of the room, Miss Edith cradled in one arm, grinning madly.

"We?" Buffy questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. A deep growl sounded behind her and she frowned. Looking back over her shoulder, she found an oversized black dog glaring at her, teeth bared. "Oh…"

"That's not all." Dru said sweetly. "Come 'ere, my pretty."

The dog turned it's gaze away from the Slayer and obediently padded past her and over to Dru. It sank down to it's haunches a few feet from her, towering over the vampire's small form.

"You know, luv, you really should be a bit more careful. That thing could have taken your head off 'fore you even seen it coming."

Buffy spun around once more to find Spike walking towards her, smirking. She scowled. "Yeah, well if you hadn't disappeared for the fiftieth time since you've been here I wouldn't even be here in the first place."

"Sorry, pet. Promised the micro-Slayer I'd fix her little sleepin' problem. Couldn't very well do that from your place, now could I?" He questioned, standing alongside her.

Buffy just shook her head. "Whatever, Spike. Can we just focus on killing the oversized dog for now?" She demanded, glaring at him. He just stared down at her with sharp blue eyes. Her eyes searched his for  moment, her glare fading into a look of confusion. "Spike?"

A smile crept to his face and he brushed his hand across her cheek. "Wha's a'matter, pet? Nervous?"

She stared at him in confusion before pulling away. "What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong? Nothin's wrong." He stated, walking across the room and over to Drusilla. The raven haired vampiress grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her from the ground and spun her in a small circle. When her feet were back on the ground, he nuzzled her neck, watching Buffy out of the corner of his eyes. "No, Slayer, everything is fine now."

----------

"Isn't it, like, not good to carry umbrellas when it's lightening?" Dawn questioned, dashing through the dark cemetery, one hand clutched over her jacket pocket, assuring that she didn't loose the small leather pouch concealed there.

"Well, yeah, but it's raining really hard." Willow stated, her feet splashing against the muddy ground as she ran. "Just don't tell your sister. Now come on, we're almost there." She shouted back, quickening her pace as the looming mansion came into view.

----------

"Stupid…soddin'…twits…." Hope grumbled, emphasizing every word as she pulled various items from the magic box shelves. She had a feeling that Buffy wasn't going to be too happy with the fact that she had left the house, let alone the fact that she had busted out one of the shop windows to get inside. On the other hand, she had been considerate enough to break the window off to the side of the building so that the rain wouldn't get in.

Sniffling, the teen tossed the items onto the table and turned her eyes back to the shelves, scanning back and forth. She groaned, narrowing her eyes at the deep red candle. "You had to be on the top shelf, didn't you?" She grumbled at the offending object, grabbing a chair from behind her and swinging it in front of the case. With an aggravated huff, she climbed up on it and reached her arm up to grab the candle.

And even with the extra height from the chair, it was still far out of her reach.

"Dammit…" She scowled, opting to grab onto one of the shelves instead of reaching for the candle. Careful not to knock the chair down, she hefted herself up and began climbing up the shelves one by one. When the candle was finally within her reach, she grabbed it and shoved it in her mouth. The way her head was spinning, she was going to need both hands to get back down if she didn't want to fall face first into the ground.

She gritted her teeth as he foot brushed against a large glass ball, knocking it from it's stand and sending it rolling off the shelf. It shattered into thousands of pieces as it hit the floor, causing her to flinch. "That looked expensive…" She mumbled sheepishly, hopping down onto the chair and then to the ground. She looked around at the shimmering glass at her feet for a brief second before shrugging and stepping over it.

"Right, now we're going to do things my way…" She said to herself, spreading out the various plants and powders she had gathered. Rolling up the soaking wet sleeves of her shirt, she held the candle in one hand and pulled a lighter from her pocket with the other. "Told ya stealin' this thing from your room would come in handy, din't I Spike?"

----------

"Mmmm, I missed you my pet…" Dru whispered softly, running her finger through his blonde locks as he nuzzled further into her neck.

"And I you, poodle." He replied with a grin, pulling away from her. He turned his dark gaze back to Buffy, still smiling madly. "Poor, poor, Slayer…" He stated, walking slowly towards her, enjoying the look of pain on her face. "We're not jealous, now, are we?"

"What did she do to you?" She demanded, unconsciously taking a step back as he drew closer.

"Drusilla? She didn't do nothin'. Well, aside from summonin' that over sized mutt over there. Right good plan, if you ask me. Let me ask you somethin', luv." He continued conversationally, pacing in front of her. "What happens when a demon who entices violence is sent after a vampire who hasn't much been one for killin' lately? Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say it'd clear up 'is vision a bit. Get 'im up for a spot of violence, 'ey?"

"It only effects mortals, you moron." The Slayer spat, trying to sound sure of herself.

"Does it now? I'm not sure, sweetheart. I'm feelin' a bit less…what's the word? Oh yeah, -leashed-." The final word came out as an emphasized growl as he stopped pacing, grinning at her. After a moment, he began to walk towards her again, taking slow, deliberate steps. "All the ties are gone now, luv. Not only is the chip gone, but so are those pesky feelin's. Now all there is is pure, hot, hatred. A desire to kill, to feed. And I think you'd be a nice place to start."


	12. Chapter 12

"Spike…" Buffy eyed the vampire warily as she took another hesitant step back.

"Poor, poor Slayer." He continued to drone, stalking towards her with a wicked grin on his face.

She frowned, stopping as her back pressed up against the wall. Her eyes narrowed at him as he stopped in front of her, bring his face close to hers. "I'll kill you…" She muttered.

"Not if I kill you first." He retorted, grinning. In one quick movement, he backhanded her, sending her reeling to the side. Her head snapped back and her eyes locked with his. She looked horrified, pissed off, and scared, all at the same time. He was about to comment on the tears forming in the corners of her eyes when she lunged at him, fists flailing.

The Slayer's thoughts raced as she pounded a fist into the vampire's face, sending him stumbling backwards. He came back at her quickly enough, landing a hard kick to her stomach. She doubled over and barely caught his arm and he went to smash her in the face. Twisting her body, she pulled him down slightly and placed herself behind him, twisting his arm behind his back. "Spike, stop it before I do something…"

"What? Something you'll regret?" He question with a sneer, pulling from her grasp and spinning back around to face her. He smirked. "Wha's a'matter, pet. Hurt your feelin's, did I?"

Buffy clenched her teeth together, trying to block out the vampire's spiteful words and Dru's insane giggling. Her eyes went wide. Dru. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she found the vampiress staring at the two of them, grinning madly. Her new 'pet' was lying beside her; it's massive head resting in its paws. Her eyes shot back to Spike, the fear in them replaced by determination. "Let's do this."

"My pleasure." He said in the same tone before coming at her again. The pair exchanged violent blows, sending each other reeling. Buffy ducked a kick to the head and grabbed the vampire's foot, pulling and sending him falling to the ground. His back slammed into the cement and he growled, shifting into his game face.

"Come on, Spike. I thought you were going to kill me?" She taunted, stepping back towards the main chamber of the mansion as he climbed to his feet. She continued to walk backwards down the hall, her eyes staying on his as he followed. There was no longer any comprehension there, only pure animalistic desire. A desire to kill. "Spike?" She asked, hoping that maybe she could grasp what little humanity was left in him. He simply growled. She just shrugged. "That'll make this a little easier." She suddenly leapt backwards, snatching up the iron poker from alongside the fireplace.

Spike continued to circle around her, his yellow eyes glowing eerily. She held her weapon like a bat, clenching it tightly between her fists. With another throaty growl, the vampire leapt towards her, clawing for her face like an animal. She swung, slamming the heavy metal across his stomach. He fell to the ground like an anvil, doubled over. Muttering a small apology, she pulled the iron bar back and swung again, smashing it into the side of his skull.

"Buffy!"

The Slayer looked up as Willow and Dawn rushed through the door and out of the storm, dripping wet. Willow eyed Spike's unconscious form nervously before looking back up at Buffy. "What happened?"

Buffy lowered her weapon a bit, running a hand through her hair. "That dog thing worked its mojo on him…"

Dawn looked worried. "Will he be alright?"

Buffy swallowed, her eyes still locked on his prone form. "Only one way to find out." She muttered before looking back up at Willow. "You finish the spell?"

"Here." Dawn pulled the small pouch from her pocket and handed it to her sister. "It should block its powers, weaken it a bit…"

"Thanks…" She mumbled, opening the pouch. It was full of a thin white powder.

"That's sorta the downside, you have to get close enough to throw it on it." Willow said, making a face. A deep growl sounded behind them and they all spun around.

"That shouldn't be a problem…" Buffy muttered, eyeing the snarling dog in the doorway. Drusilla stood at its side, looking upset.

"You hurt my baby." She said softly, running her hands over the dog's black fur absently.

"Guys, get back." Buffy instructed, holding the poker defensively in one hand and clutching the pouch in the other.

----------

Hope's tennis shoes splashed against the pavement as she ran, sending sprays of water into the air. Rounding the corner of the deserted Sunnydale street, her shoes skidded along the wet pavement and she slid to her knees, dropping the large axe she had been carrying. "Bloody fucking…" She grumbled, pulling herself back up quickly. She nearly went back down just as fast as a dizzy spell came over her, causing her surroundings to spin wildly. Clenching her eyes shut and shaking it off, she took a few more uneasy steps forward.

Steadying herself against a building, she rested her head against the wet bricks, closing her eyes. She was shaking, partially from exhaustion and partially from the fact that it was freezing. Peeling her eyes open, she looked down the dark street, watching the lightning dance along the horizon. She stood there for a few moments, frozen, rain pouring over her.

Shaking her head slightly, she leaned away from the support of the wall and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, tossing it angrily to the ground. It was completely saturated, weighing her down. Everything was weighing her down, physically and mentally. She had to fight the urge to lie down right there and curl up in the street, in the rain, and sleep. She continued to glare at her sweatshirt, hot tears mixing with the freezing rain running down her face.

In her mind, this was all Spike's fault. He had dragged her here, it was his crazy ex-girlfriend who had summoned the demon and made her hate him. It was all his fault and deep down she really did hate him. She hated him for everything he had ever done.

But she wouldn't let it end like this. No, she wouldn't let him down, not after everything he had done for her. Sniffling a bit, she bent down, grabbing the axe before she turned and resumed her run towards the mansion.

----------

Buffy eyed the massive demon as it circled around her, growling. She held her ground as it began to inch towards her, snapping its jaws threateningly.

"Buffy!" Dawn squealed, alarmed by the fact that her sister was allowing the creature to get so close to her.

"Buffy, the charm!" Willow shouted, pointing at the charm around the beast's neck. It was glowing an eerie green color.

"I don't think so." The Slayer growled, throwing the pouch at the canine. It hit with a soft thud on the creature's forehead, covering its face in the white powder. It shook its head furiously as the glow began to fade. Buffy used the opportunity to lunge at it, swinging her weapon. It smacked against the thing's head with a loud thump, but the creature didn't waver. Instead, it growled and swiped a hefty paw at the Slayer, catching her across her middle and hurling her backwards through the air. She slammed into to wall, dropping her weapon and falling to the floor.

"You broke my new toy." Dru muttered, walking slowly towards the Slayer as she climbed to her feet. "My poor puppy…"

"Poor puppy my ass."

Everyone in the room turned towards the door at the sound of the voice. Hope stood there, illuminated by the raging lightning behind her. She was breathing heavily, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, one clutching an axe. The canine growled, taking a step towards her.

"Hope!" Buffy scrambled to her feet, wincing.

Hope didn't move. She just narrowed her eyes as the dog stopped in front of her. "I've always been a cat person." She said simply as she opened her fist. A blinding, bright blue light filled the room. She quickly pulled the hand holding the axe over her eyes, blocking her eyes from the light. After a moment, the light faded and she warily pulled her arm down.

"No!!"

The teen ignored Dru's crying, tossed the now dull crystal she had held to the floor and hefted the axe up. No longer was she staring at a canine that towered over her. No, now she was staring down at a creature no bigger than a house cat. A really confused housecat at that. The now miniature demon was looking up at everyone, confused at it's sudden change in stature. "I hate dogs…" Hope grumbled, bringing the axe down. The mini canine narrowly avoided the blow, jumping to the side before making a beeline down one of the halls. Hefting the axe back up, Hope slowly turned her head towards Willow and Dawn. "It'll only last about fifteen minutes…"

Both girls gave her a slightly confused look.

Hope swallowed. "Kill it."

Dawn looked over to her sister, who nodded as she stood. Not needing to be told twice, the two girls headed off in the direction the dog had taken off in.

Hope's dark eyes went up to the now crying vampiress, narrowing threateningly. Shifting the axe to her other hand, she began to stalk towards her, looking even deader than Dru did. Her pale face was accented by her slightly blue lips and the dark rings around her eyes, and her hair and clothes were soaked, hanging limply over her thin form. "Bitch…" She growled, her voice coming out in a raspy breath.

"Hope, no. I'll take care of this." Buffy winced slightly as she grabbed the girl by the shoulder, holding her back. She was obviously in no condition to fight.

Wrong.

The next thing Buffy knew, she was on the ground, one well placed kick from the teen sending her down. "Hope!" She managed a strangled scream as she climbed to her feet, watching the girl charge towards Drusilla.

"Don't think so, luv." Spike growled, wrapping an arm around the Slayer's neck from behind and gripping her in a chokehold.

"Hope!" Buffy screamed again, struggling to get free from the vampire's grasp. Her eyes watched frantically as Hope continued to swing the massive axe at Dru. She was weakening. Her swings were slow, giving the vampiress plenty of time to dodge them. "Spike, she's going to kill her!"

"Pity, ain't it?" He said flatly, spinning and tossing her roughly to the ground. "She's so young too." He added, kicking the slayer roughly in the side. He watched as she climbed to her hands and knees and began to stand before landing another rough kick to her ribcage. She let out a small whimper as she slid to her side again. He just clucked his tongue, grinning as he picked up the iron poker she had dropped. "Off your game a bit, Slayer?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes at him as she climbed slowly back to her feet, cringing at the sharp pain in her side. "That's enough, Spike." She managed, clenching her teeth.

"No, pet, I really don't think it is." He replied simply, swinging the iron bar at her middle. She moved backwards, barely avoiding the blow, but by the time she steadied herself, he swung again, smashing it into the side of her head. She was thrown off her feet, falling with a harsh thud to the floor.

Spike continued to grin wildly as he stalked over to her fallen form, crouching down beside her. She was slowly coming out of her daze, her hands gripping tightly at the sides of her skull. He grabbed the hair on the back of her head, yanking it back so she was looking up at him. There was blood running from her nose and one of her ears, which only made him smile wider. "Poor slayer." He said, false sympathy dripping from his words as he pressed the pointed tip of the iron bar against her neck.

"Hey Spike."

The vampire spun his head around upon hearing his name, momentarily forgetting about the Slayer in his grasp.

Hope stood at the other end of the room, staring at him coldly. Dru was on her knees in front of her, facing him. The teen had her head pulled back by her hair, much like Spike was holding Buffy, her other hand digging the sharp axe into her neck. Small streams of blood had begun to pour down the vampiress' neck, deep red torrents against her white skin.

"Let 'er go..." Spike growled, snarling menacingly.

"After you." Hope replied flatly, pressing the blade further into Dru's neck. A strangled whimper escaped her lips as she squirmed. Hope yanked her hair sharply, making her hold still.

Spike's cold eyes drifted back down to Buffy. She swallowed against the point digging into her neck, glaring at him. He held her harsh gaze for a moment, before releasing her hair and standing, his eyes shooting back over to Hope.

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, her expression holding an eerie likeness to the platinum blonde vampire's trademark sneer. Pulling the axe away, she shoved Dru forward.

"I've spent the last two days afraid of you, of what you could do to me. I was scared of you, Spike…" The small blonde said, her voice barely audible.

"And what, you want a cookie?" He snapped back, grinning. "Sorry princess, doesn't work like that. You see, I'm a vampire, you're a Slayer. That means I kill you."

"No, it means I kill you." She replied, her voice flat.

"S'that so?" He retorted, quirking an eyebrow at her.

She shrugged. "Guess so…"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Hate to break it t'ya, kiddo, but you can barely stand. M'not too sure how you plan on fightin' me."

"You know what, Spike? You're right, I wouldn't stand a chance against you, but I already knew that."

"Then why all the big talk, then? Tryin' to sound tough?" He questioned, sneering.

"No, just distracting you long enough for her to do that." Hope replied calmly, pointing behind him. Buffy was back on her feet, one arm around Dru's neck, the other holding a stake against her chest.

"Hey honey." The elder Slayer said coldly before thrusting the stake through the vampiress' heart.

"Dru!!" Spike's scream came out strangled as he watched his sire explode into a cloud of dust. Hope fell to the ground behind him, her body going limp like a marionette who's strings had been cut. The looked disoriented for a moment, but regained himself quickly. Cold fury lit up in his eyes and his face shifted. "Bloody fucking bitch…"

Buffy had no time to react. He was on her almost instantaneously, clawing and biting and thrashing about. She felt the iron bar he held slam into her stomach a few times, but a hazy numbness had come over her body, nulling the pain.

"You killed her, you fucking bitch! You killed her!" The vampire shouted as he continued to smash the iron bar against the slayer's bruised flesh. She continued to stumble backwards, unable to return the blows.

Hope whimpered slightly as she looked up, trying to clear her vision. She could hear fighting. And Spike, cursing up a storm because Buffy had killed Dru. Wait? Dru. Dru was dead, no more dreams. No more creepy Spike. She smiled slightly, but quickly reprimanded herself. Buffy. Buffy killed Dru. Spike was pissed. Opening her eyes back up, she searched the room for the pair.

She instantly regretted it.

Spike had Buffy backed into a corner and was mercilessly pounding the iron bar against her, his raging screams now incoherent. Buffy looked about ready to pass out, but the constant blows and the support of the wall behind her kept her on her feet.

"Buffy!!"

Hope's head snapped around to find Dawn and Willow standing in the doorway, looking horrified. On the plus side, they were both covered in purple goo and there was no more dog creature chasing after them, so at least they didn't have to worry about that. Obviously the two had managed to take care of the creature.

Shaking her head, Hope scrambled back up to her feet. "Spike!!"

The vampire abruptly stopped swinging at the sound of her voice. He stood there for a moment, staring blankly at the beaten Slayer in front of him. She was supporting herself fully on the wall, shaking from trying too keep herself up. Her eyes were locked with his, defiant. His face shifted back to its human form, and for a brief moment, she thought he was himself again. Her eyes softened a bit. "Spike?"

Then, in one quick movement, he drove the iron bar through her stomach.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, this is a super short chapter, but I may not be able to upload for awhile so I figured I'd post it. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I LOVE YOU!!

----------

Everything in the room seemed to freeze. Hope remained half standing, her eyes wide in fear as she leaned one hand against the wall for support; Willow and Dawn remained in the doorway, slack jawed, wide eyed, lacking words; and Spike and Buffy remained absolutely still, eyes locked. Buffy would have fallen to the ground had it not been for the metal bar thrust through her stomach and out her back.

"Spike…" The Slayer's voice came out in a strangled whisper as her eyes began to gloss over and her knees gave out, leaving her gripping the bar protruding from her stomach like it was her last ties to this earth.

Spike's eyes remained locked with hers, confused. It was as if he had no comprehension of what was going on. "Buffy?" He questioned softly, following her eyes downward as they drifted closed. That's when he saw the metal bar, the blood, and his hands. He had done this. It was like a slap in the face. "Oh God…" He panicked, backing quickly away and jerking the bar from the Slayer's middle as he did so. They both fell to the ground, Spike dropping his weapon and sliding to his knees, his hands clutching at the sides of his skull, and Buffy unconscious.

Hope could feel her eyes welling up as she watched the scene play out in front of her. Buffy was lying on the ground, half dead, and Spike was sitting a few feet away, rocking back and forth as he cried. He was crying. He was himself again. It took all she had in her not to run across the room and envelope him in a hug, but it would have to wait. Buffy needed help, and soon. 

Pushing away from the wall, she stumbled over to the Slayer and fell to her knees beside her. The movement seemed to have waken Dawn and Willow from their daze, as they both quickly made their way over to the fallen Slayer's side. Hope had brushed her matted hair from her face and placed her ear near her mouth, listening to her breath. Her other hand was over her stomach, blood oozing from between her fingers. "We need to get her out of here…"

"Oh God…" Was all Dawn could manage, her wide eyes scanning over her sister's mangled form.

Willow opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling to find words. "Uh… the hospital… it's about six blocks away…we need to call an ambulance…" She managed, her voice coming out in small squeaks.

Hope felt her stomach fall. There was no time to call an ambulance, besides, where did they plan on getting a phone? She felt her eyes drift shut, tears slipping between them. She didn't know what to do. She was fourteen years old, trying to keep someone her best friend had just attacked form bleeding to death.

"…I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…"

For a moment, they all forgot about the dying Slayer as they turned to Spike. He was clutching at his hair, progressively getting louder as he rocked back and forth. Hope shook her head, trying to ignore him. She turned her gaze back to Willow and Dawn, who were watching him intently. "Willow, the house isn't too far from here. Run back, get your car and get back here. Dawn, get out of here and try to find a phone. Call for an ambulance. If Willow gets back first she'll take her to the hospital, meet us there."

"Uh, right, car…" Willow muttered, climbing to her feet. Dawn didn't move.

"Dawn!"

The brunette jumped when Hope snapped at her. She closed her eyes and climbed to her feet. "Yeah, phone…"

"Hurry…" The blonde added, watching as the two girls disappeared back out into the storm. She readjusted her hold on Buffy, resting the Slayer's head on her leg as she continued to hold her hand over the wound in her stomach. It wasn't helping. Blood continued to seep between her fingers. She suddenly regretted discarding her sweatshirt, at least that would have stopped the blood flow a bit better than her hand. Her eyes went back over to Spike, who was still muttering to himself. "Spike?"

"…Oh God, Buffy. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh God, Oh God…"

Hope scowled. "Spike, you sorry piece of shit, shut the hell up and help me!"

He shut up and stopped rocking, slowly pulling his hands from his head and peering over at her.

Her face softened a bit when she saw his red eyes and the tears scorching down his face. She swallowed before continuing softly. "I need your shirt, Spike. We have to stop the bleeding…"

He continued to stare at her for a moment, then down at Buffy. He clenched his eyes back shut quickly, turning his head away. There was so much blood.

"Spike…" Hope prompted, trying to regain his attention. She sighed in relief as he slowly stood, pulling the sleeves of his jackets from his arms. But then, to her surprise, he didn't take his shirt off. Instead he stalked over, knelt down, and pulled Buffy from her grasp. "What are you…"

"She needs a doctor." He said simply, wrapping his jacket around her limp for and hefting her into his arms.

"Dawn went to call an ambulance." Hope stated, standing back up as he did. "And if that doesn't work Willow went to get the car."

"No time." He stated, adjusting his hold on the girl as he stalked towards the door.

"Spike." Hope jogged after him, stopping when he stopped inside the door. She drew in a long breath before looking up at him. "Hurry."

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

 Hope shifted her weight, eyes staring blankly out into the storm. She wrapped her arms more tightly around herself, praying for Willow or Dawn to get back. The mansion was cold, dark, and the air felt heavy. Her eyes drifted down to her shirt, her hands. Both were covered in blood. Slowly, she turned, her eyes staring down at the thick puddle of red liquid in the middle of the room.  
  
She felt sick.  
  
She turned away quickly, closing her eyes. She could stomach slime and goo just fine, but blood was a whole different story. The stuff had always made her queasy, and the fact that she was covered in it was starting to make her uncomfortable. She couldn't stay there.  
  
Looking back up and out the door, she prayed that she would see either the headlights from Willow's car or hear Dawn's footsteps. Neither. Her eyes slowly drifted and she stared blankly in the direction Spike had gone in. He had been gone mere minutes, she knew, but it felt like hours. She clenched her hands into fists and looked down at them.   
  
Blood.  
  
No, she couldn't stay there. Glancing quickly in the directions Dawn and Willow had disappeared in, she turned and headed in the direction Spike had gone.  
  
----------  
  
Spike couldn't remember carrying anything so heavy in his entire existence. The unconscious Slayer in his arms felt like she was weighing him down and his feet felt like anvils. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't think he was running fast enough. Thunder roared in the sky above him, but he failed to acknowledge it. He couldn't. All he knew was Buffy was dying and if he didn't hurry…

He ran faster.

The hospital seemed further away than he remembered, but the second it came into view he put on an extra burst of speed. He silently cursed the automatic doors as they slid open slowly, forcing him to slow his stride to avoid crashing through them.

"I need help!"

Everyone in the waiting room looked up. Spike was standing there, soaked from head to toe, holding the limp and bloodied form of the Slayer. It seemed like an eternity before a small group of doctors came out, one pushing a stretcher.

"Sir. Sir!"

Spike shook his head as one of the men tried to pull Buffy from his vice like grip. He blinked. "What?"

"We need to get her in the ER now." The doctor barked, trying once more to take the girl from him.

"Take her…" He closed his eyes. Buffy. They wanted to take her. Away. Take her away. "Uh…"

"Sir! Do you want us to help her or not?"

He opened his eyes. "Wha…? No. No, you have to help 'er. Please…" He suddenly loosened his grip, nearly dropping the Slayer to the floor. The doctors grabbed her quickly though, lying her on the stretcher and making their way hurriedly towards a large pair of white doors.

Spike went after them, not leaving Buffy's side.

"You're going to have to stay out here." The female doctor of the group said, her voice holding a bit more sympathy than her male coworker's had moments before.

"But I…"

"Stay here." The male shot quickly, giving him a stern look.

Spike stopped in his tracks right outside the doors, watching absently as they swung closed. He continued to stare through the tiny window, watching as they wheeled Buffy down the hall and out of his sight. She was gone.

His eyes fell to his hands, covered in her blood. Even though his shirt was soaked through, you could still see the deep colored blotches on the dark fabric. He could smell her, her blood, her sweat. She was all over him.

But he might never see her again.

He felt his eyes prickling, tears forming in the corners. He killed her. He killed the only person he loved. After all these years, planning her demise, playing out how he would kill her in his mind, he finally did it. He killed Buffy Summers.

His knees gave out.

----------

Rain hurt.

That was all that was registering in Hope's mind. No, more like all she would allow her mind to register. The heavy drops of rain pounding against her arms and face stung, but the tiny amount of pain was enough to keep her mind from other things. She didn't want to think about how cold she was. She didn't want to think about how tired and dizzy she was. And she sure as hell didn't want to think about Buffy.

Well, until she had to.

The hospital came into view, and she was instantly shoved back into reality. Buffy was inside that building, maybe dead already, and Spike was in there, most likely blaming himself. But was it really all his fault? If you had asked her an hour earlier she would have said yes in a heartbeat, but now… no. Not after seeing the anguished look on his face. It wasn't his fault. It couldn't be.

"Spike?!"

Before she was completely in the door, Hope had shouted his name, her eyes searching frantically around the waiting room. They scanned quickly over the people in chairs before falling on the hunched over form in front of the ER doors. Spike.

He was crying, an older woman standing over him, her hand on his shoulder, trying to coax him into taking a glass of water. He didn't seem to acknowledge her, his head staying buried in his hands.

"Spike…" The teens voice trailed off as she muttered the vampire's name absently, her head tilting to the side as her eyes welled up.

"Sweet heart, come on, sit down."

Hope blinked. "Wha…." That's when she noticed the woman standing beside her, gripping her arm as she led her to a chair. 

"Can we get a nurse out here?" The woman called, looking over at the secretary, then back at Hope as she pushed her down into one of the waiting room chairs. "What on earth happened to you…"

Hope stared at her for a moment, then looked down at herself. Well, would you look at that. Blood. Lots of it, too. Most of it was Buffy's, but now that she thought about it, there wasn't something quite right… Reaching down, she absently pulled up her shirt, revealing a long, deep gash across her stomach. Huh, didn't remember getting that. Come to think of it, she didn't remember much about what had happened at the mansion. It was all a big blur. She remembered seeing Buffy and Spike when she walked in, and then… oh, wait. "Spike."

Hope scowled as the woman muttered something about not moving, attempting to keep her in her seat. Pulling her arm away from her, Hope got up, now clutching an arm to her newly discovered injury. The woman tried once more to grab at her, but she easily pulled from her grasp, roughly shoving her hand from her shoulder.

"Spike…" Hope's voice trailed off as she pulled the woman trying to gain the vampire's attention away, then slid to her knees in front of him. She was afraid, to put it simply. She had never seen him cry before, at least not like this. He was hunched over, his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. She slowly snaked her hand up to his hands, wrapping it around his and pulling it from his face.

The vampire looked up slowly, his eyes red. When they met hers, he sniffled. "Hey kitten…"

"Hey…" She replied, her voice quiet. When he didn't reply, she sighed, tightening her hold on his hand. "I'm not mad at you…"

"Should be…" He muttered disdainfully.

She looked down at the ground, shaking her head slightly. "I can't be mad at you, I love you too much…" When she looked back up, she found the vampire staring back at her, teary eyed. Giving him a small smile, she slid over and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder.

TBC…


	15. Chaper 15

"She's suffering from a bit of exhaustion and she'll need some stitches, but other than that she'll be okay."

Willow nodded as she listened to the doctor standing beside her, casting a sideways glance across the waiting room. Spike was curled up in one of the chairs, his eyes staring blankly across the room. Dawn was beside him, silent, having given up on trying to comfort the vampire nearly an hour ago.

"What about Buffy?" The redhead questioned, turning back to him. She was far less concerned with Hope's condition than she was about Buffy's.

The doctor sighed, running a hand through his dirty blonde hand. Not very reassuring. "We still have her in surgery. Her left lung was punctured and there was massive internal bleeding, not to mention the numerous broken bones."

"B-but she'll be okay, right?" Willow asked hopefully.

The doctor swallowed, refusing to meet her eyes. "It depends. If the surgery goes well, there's a chance she'll make it through the night. If not…" He trailed off, looking down at the clipboard in his hands like it was the most important thing in the world.

Willow's eyes fell. "Oh…"

The doctor sighed, then audibly cleared his throat. "Look, Ms. Rosenberg, they're probably finishing up with Hope about now. Why don't I get you the rest of the paperwork to fill out and then you can go in and see her, alright?"

"Wha..oh, yeah…" The redhead mumbled, taking the clipboard he handed off to her. She turned, making her way numbly back over to where Dawn and Spike were sitting. She sat down on the other side of Spike, placing the vampire between her and Dawn.

"What'd he say?" Dawn asked quietly, not looking up.

"Hope's doing fine. She needs some stitches and stuff, but she'll be okay. He said we could go in and see her in a few minutes…" she answered flatly, her eyes falling drifting to Spike. He didn't seem to be listening, or he just didn't care.

"Oh…" Dawn muttered, looking down. She didn't have it in her to ask how her sister was doing, something told her she wasn't going to like what she heard.

"Where's Buffy…"

Both girls looked down at the vampire, his voice startling them. He had been absolutely silent since they had arrived, not even speaking when the doctors had pried Hope away from him, even though she was kicking and screaming like it was the end of the world. He had just sat there, lost in his own little world. It had taken them nearly twenty minutes to coax him from the floor, and even when they had finally gotten him to stand up, they had to basically drag him over to the chairs and push him into one of the seats.

"Uh…well…" Willow began, running her hand over the back of her neck. "Th-they have her in the operating room now…"

"Is she going to be okay?" Dawn asked meekly.

Willow's eyes fell to the floor. "He said that is she makes it through surgery, there's a chance she'll make it through the night…"

An eerie silence fell over the trio. Dawn continued to stare blankly at the floor, and after a moment Willow turned her attention to the paperwork sitting in her lap. Spike merely curled up more, burying his head in the back of the chair. The waiting room was deserted, aside from them, which was really unusual for Sunnydale. Then again, not too many people got serious injured in the town, they just flat out died.

"No! Let me go!!"

The trio looked up, their eyes locking on the narrow hallway to the right of the receptionist desk. There were a few more shouts, then a loud thump followed by a sharp crash.

Willow shot up from her seat as Hope came rushing out into the waiting room, followed closely by two rather angry looking doctors. The blonde nearly tripped as she bounded over a row of chairs, skidding to a halt beside Willow. She  came close to falling over the overly long legs of her sweatpants, but caught herself on the arm of the chair. She made a mental note to thank Willow for going back home to get everyone some dry clothes. She would have felt pretty stupid running through the waiting room in one of those silly gowns.

"Young lady, this is highly uncalled for." One of the doctors said in a gruff voice, stalking over to where she was standing.

"What's going on?" Willow asked, her eyes falling on the second doctor as he to walk up to them. He was nursing a black eye.

The first doctor answered quickly, sounding aggravated. "We were going to give her something to help her sleep, but she flipped out and started attacking the nurse."

Willow looked over at Hope, raising her eyebrows in question.

"I told them I didn't want to sleep…"

"Oh, honey." Willow cooed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You haven't slept for like, three days. It's over now, remember?"

Hope pulled away from her, scowling. "That's not why." She spat.

"Then why?" Willow asked, her voice soft.

Hope swallowed, her eyes drifting over to Spike. He was staring at her, but in some odd way it was like he didn't see her. "I just don't want to, okay?" She mumbled, looking back up at the redhead.

Willow sighed, giving her a small smile. Turning back to the doctors, she gave them a small nod. "We'll keep an eye on her."

"But we should really…"

"She'll be fine." The redhead assured them, holding out the clipboard. "Let us know when you find anything else out, okay?"

The doctor sighed defeatedly, nodding as he took the paperwork. 

"Look, why don't you sit down." Willow said, guiding the blonde over to the chair she had been previously occupying.  "Dawnie, you should probably see if you can get a hold of your dad…"

"He probably won't pick up." The brunette muttered. "But we should probably call Xander and Anya."

Willow nodded. "Yeah. Hope, stay here. We'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Yeah…" the teen mumbled, watching as Dawn stood and followed after Willow in search of a payphone. She sighed heavily, turning back to the vampire curled up beside her. "Spike?"

"Yeah kitten…" he muttered absently, not moving.

Hope shifted, in her seat, drawing her legs up underneath her. "Are you okay?"

"Hardly…" He said quietly, sounding miserable.

Hope swallowed, pitying him. "Thirty-six." Spike was quiet for a moment, but then looked up at her, making a face. She grinned. "Stitches." She said simply, lifting the bottom of her shirt to reveal a jagged line of black dashes running across her abdomen.

He couldn't help but smile a bit. "Those aren't somethin' to brag about. You're stupidest creature to ever walk the earth, you know that?"

"Yep." She replied, smirking as he reached over to ruffle her hair. She ducked away from him a bit, yawning.

The vampire drew in a long breath, his smile fading. "Tired?"

"No." she mumbled, settling into her chair and resting her head on his shoulder.

"You've always been a horrible liar." He stated.

"Sorry…"

He smirked a bit before leaning his head to the side to rest against hers. "Sweet dreams, kitten."

----------

"Spike? Spike."

"Hmmm…" the vampire mumbled, his eyes fluttering open. He found Willow standing in front of him, smiling slightly.

"Hey, Buffy's out of surgery…"

That caught his attention. He sat up, causing Hope to mutter in protest as she readjusted her head against his shoulder. "She alright?"

Willow sighed heavily. "They're not sure yet. They lost her a few times during the operation, but they managed to pull her back. She got through it, but they're not… they don't know if she'll make it through the night, Spike." She remained quiet for a moment, allowing him to take this in. "They said we could go in and see her now, but not for too long. They have to monitor her until she wakes up. I already went in and Dawn's in there now, so you can go in in a few minutes…"

"So she's not okay…" He mumbled, his eyes remaining on the floor.

"No, Spike. She's not." Willow said, sitting down beside him. "But the doctors said that if she had gotten here any later they wouldn't have been able to save her. Spike, if you hadn't carried her here she'd be dead right now. You gave her a fighting chance, and you know Buffy. She won't go down without a fight."

"I killed her…"

"No, Spike. You didn't." She assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Dawn should be coming out in a few minutes."

TBC…


	16. chapter 16

Spike stood motionless in the doorway, staring with disbelieving eyes at the tiny form lying in the bed in front of him. She looked so… broken. Her hair hung limply, her skin was pale and her lips blue. The tubes running through her nose bothered him, but the one running down her throat almost made him vomit. He remembered vaguely that one of the doctors said that if they took her off the respirators she most likely wouldn't be able to breath on her own.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he took a step in, the heavy sound of his boots on the tile merging with the endless beeping machines surrounding the fragile Slayer. He approached the bed, careful not to touch any of the machines. His shoulder brushed against the I.V. bag and he squinted at the label. Morphine. Great, not only had he nearly killed her, he had made her a druggie too.

Drawing his attention from the I.V., he looked down at her. He felt his eyes well up once more and it took all of his energy not to curl up and start crying again. God, what had she done to him? Nothing but a nancy boy like Peaches…

Silently, he grabbed one of the two metal chairs from along the wall and pulled it up to the side of the bed. He set it backwards, swinging his legs over the sides and resting his arms on the back of it. For a few moments he just sat there, staring at her motionless form.

"I'm sorry, Buffy…" he finally mumbled, reaching over and running a hand softly over her hair. "I'm so sorry…"

He partially expected her to wake up and yell at him for apologizing. She always hated when he apologized to her. But not this time. She just lay there, all the life drained from her. Sniffling, Spike pushed the chair he was sitting in to the side and spun himself around. Wrapping his hand around hers, he laid his head down on the side of the bed and closed his eyes.

---------

"The longer she's asleep, the less chance we have of getting her back." 

Willow held Dawn's hand tightly as they listened to the doctor speak. Hope was sitting a few chairs down, curled up, with her head resting against the wall. She was listening, her eyes locked vacantly on the wall opposite of her.

"If she's not awake by tomorrow, we're going to try to take her off of the respirators. That might shock her system enough to wake her up." The doctor continued, his face emotionless.

"And if it doesn't?" Dawn asked, suddenly sounding a bit frantic.

"It's the only option we have, Ms. Summers. As of now, the chances of her pulling out of this on her own are slim to none. If we don't try something soon, she may never come out of her coma…"

"But what if it doesn't work? What if she doesn't wake up when you take her off of the machines?" the young Summers demanded, her grip on Willow's hand tightening.

"Isn't there any other way?" Willow asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, but it's the only option we have. I'll let you know if there are any changes in her condition. Until then, you'd be best to get some sleep, there's nothing else you can do." He said, his voice barely holding a touch of sympathy. Giving the girls a halfhearted smile, he turned and walked back down the hallway, leaving them in the gloomy waiting room.

----------

"… you'll get through this. I know you will. I love you, Buffy. I love you so much…" Spike was mumbling absently, his head still resting alongside the Slayer's arm as he brushed his thumb over her hand. "Please don't leave me. I need you, Summers…"

"Sir?"

"God, I need you…"

"Sir."

Spike jumped when he felt the hand on his shoulder, his head shooting up. He found the doctor staring down at him, his eyebrows raised.

"You have to leave now, sir."

Spike shook his head numbly, returning his gaze to the small blonde on the bed. "Can't. I can't leave her alone again…"

"Sir, you really need to…"

"Please?" He pleaded, turning to look at the doctor with red eyes.

For a moment he just stared at the blonde, his face sour. Then he sighed, glancing down at his watch. "You have five minutes..." He said quietly, turning to make his way out of the room.

Five minutes? That was it? That wasn't enough time. He couldn't leave her alone. Not again. Looking back down at the Slayer, Spike sniffled, tightening his hold on her hand. "Please luv, please. Wake up. Oh God, please wake up…" He trailed off, his head sinking down as tears began to stream from his eyes once more. "Please, pet, please…" He mumbled, burying his head into her shoulder.

----------

"We have a code red in room 203! Someone call the doctor!"

Willow and Dawn both looked up as the nurse poked her head around the corner of the hallway, shouting orders to the receptionist before quickly dashing away again.

"That's Buffy's room…" Dawn mumbled, shooting up from her seat. "Oh God…"

"Someone get the doctor!" another nurse shouted, cutting through the waiting room and heading towards the hallway. She noticed Dawn and Willow rising to their feet and pointed at them warningly. "If you want us to help her, stay here!"

They both froze, watching as the stout woman disappeared down the corridor. Willow sank slowly back down into her seat, wrapping her arms tightly around her chest. Dawn just stood there, tears running unnoticed down her face.

Hope took off down the hallway.


	17. chapter 17

Hope struggled against whoever had grabbed her shoulders, preventing her from going the remaining fifteen feet between her and the door to Buffy's room. There were numerous nurses and doctors coming in and out of the room, shouting things that she couldn't make out.  
  
"Lemme go!" She managed, tearing one arm away from the nurse. Any other day she would have been able to wiggle away easily, but now she was just tired. Her legs felt heavy from the short sprint from the waiting room. Letting out an aggravated scream, she pulled completely away from the woman, nearly losing her balance as she began to run once more.  
  
It didn't take much more to get to Buffy's room. Hope slid to a stop, staying along the wall opposite the door. She craned her neck, trying to peer past the people huddled at the door and into the room. Her view was obscured even more by the people inside the room, gathered around the Slayer's bed.  
  
"You can't go back there!"  
  
Hope's head snapped to the side. Willow and Dawn were walking quickly towards her, the nurse that had been holding her back trailing behind then, shouting for them to stop. Her head spun back to look at the door in front of her. Pushing away from the wall, she squeezed her way between the doctors, ignoring their protests and shoving the ones that refused to move out of her way.  
  
When she was finally in the room, she darted away from the hands that tried to nab her and raced to the side of the bed, squeezing between a doctor and nurse who were shouting back and forth.  
  
She froze, her eyes going wide.  
  
"Ms. Summers. Ms. Summers!" The doctor was shouting, trying unsuccessfully to pry the Slayers arms from around Spike's neck. She was sitting up, clinging to him like he was her only tie to this earth. Her eyes were flitting about frantically, confused, afraid.  
  
Spike was being just as difficult, refusing to let go of the now conscious blonde. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, his head buried in her shoulder. Despite the numerous shouts, Hope could here him mumbling under his breath, tiny words only the Slayer was meant to hear.  
  
"I love you, Buffy."  
  
"Someone call security!" The doctor nearest Spike shouted, looking over his shoulder at one of the nurses. Hope looked back as well. Dawn and Willow were standing in the doorway, trying unsuccessfully to push past the nurses standing there. "Now would be good!" The doctor barked. The nurse fumbled her hands and turned for the door.  
  
"No, wait!" Hope managed, turning back to the vampire and Slayer huddled on the bed. Security was a bad thing, she knew. "Move." She ordered, ducking under the doctor's arm as he continued to unsuccessfully try to pull Spike's arms from Buffy. She pushed it away, placing her own hand on the vampire's shoulder.  
  
"Spike?" She questioned, shaking him a bit. He didn't answer. She rolled her eyes. "Spike, come on. They can't help her if you don't let go."  
  
He sat there for a moment, still, but then reluctantly loosened his hold on the Slayer's waist, pulling back a bit.  
  
"Mmm." Buffy managed, the only sound she was able to make with the tube still down her throat was a pitiful, raspy whimper.  
  
"Buffy!!"  
  
The Slayer's eyes shot to the door as her sister rushed in, Willow close on her heals. Her eyes darted around wildly, trying to take in all the faces around her.  
  
"Guys, stay back." Hope said simply, holding up her hand at Willow and Dawn. "Spike, come on. The doctors need to look at her." She said quietly, placing her hand back on Spike's shoulder.  
  
"S'ok luv. It'll all be okay." He said softly, pulling away from her grasp and standing alongside Hope. His hand lingered on the side of her face before dropping limply to his side.  
  
"Hmm mmm.." Buffy mumbled, her eyes watering up.  
  
"Alright, everyone. Let's give her some room. You can come back in when we're done examining her." The doctor said, holding a finger up in front of the Slayer's eyes and moving it back and forth. Her eyes followed for a moment before she looked back over to where the others were standing, her eyes pleading.  
  
"It's okay, Buffy. We'll be back in a little bit. The doctors are going to help you." Dawn managed, talking over her shoulder as one of the remaining nurses ushered them out the door and back into the hallway.  
  
The quartet stood silently in the hallway, watching absently as the door to the Slayer's room was closed and the unneeded doctors and nurses dispersed down the halls. Dawn and Willow exchanged a quick uneasy look while Hope looked down at the floor, but their eyes all locked on Spike as the vampire walked up to the room, placing the palm of his hand against the door.  
  
----------  
  
"Ms. Summers, Ms. Rosenburg?"  
  
Dawn and Willow looked up as the doctor walked towards them, his eyes glued to the clipboard he held in his hands. The two girls stood, eager to hear what he had to say.  
  
"Is she okay?" Spike question, sliding Hope from his lap as he stood from his seat as well. The girl had fallen asleep again, but who could really blame her? "Is she gonna be alright?"  
  
"As far as we can tell." The doctor replied, finally looking up to meet the concerned faces in front of him. "Her vital signs are all good, she's breathing on her own, and despite the massive lack of oxygen that was getting to her brain, there doesn't seem to be too much memory loss."  
  
"Memory loss?" Willow questioned, sounding worried. "No one said anything about memory loss."  
  
"It's common in situations like these. She may not remember some dates, birthdays, anniversaries, things like that. And I wouldn't be surprised in the least if she didn't remember anything that happened to her, why she's here. We questioned her about it, but she's still a little dazed. It's best just to let her rest for the time being."  
  
"Can we go see her?" Dawn asked eagerly.  
  
The doctor nodded, tucking the clipboard under his arm. "But like I said, don't expect her to remember what happened. She's still a bit confused, but seeing some familiar faces should do her good."  
  
"Thank you." Willow said, watching as the doctor retreated down another hallway. She glanced at Dawn for a moment, then at Spike. "Should we wake her up?" She questioned, nodding towards Hope. The girl was still curled up on the chair, sleeping soundly.  
  
Spike looked back at her, then back to Willow, shaking his head. "Let 'er sleep."  
  
Willow nodded. "Well, I guess we should go then."  
  
Dawn nodded, following after the redhead. Spike followed behind her, casting one last look over his shoulder at the sleeping Slayer.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow called quietly, slowly pushing the door to her room open. A smile crept to her face when she saw the Slayer sitting in bed, looking over at her. "Hey."  
  
"Willow?" Buffy asked, giving the redhead a confused look.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. A-and Dawn." Willow said, smiling as she sat down on the side of the bed.  
  
"And Spike." Dawn added, walking up and hugging her sister tightly. Buffy looked up at Spike as her sister released her. He was lingering near the wall, just watching them. Her eyes quickly went back to Willow and Dawn.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Dawn and Willow exchanged looks before turning back to the razzled Slayer. "You should get some rest, Buffy. We can talk about it later." Dawn said, giving her sister a small smile.  
  
The Slayer looked hurt, her eyes looking between the trio before resting on the vampire. "Spike?"  
  
Spike shifted a bit, leaning away from the wall. "Uh." He mumbled, looking nervously over at Willow and Dawn.  
  
"Buffy, I really don't think." Willow began.  
  
"They said they put your coat over there." Buffy interrupted, pointing to the corner of the room. "It's in that bag. There was a lot of blood, I guess."  
  
Spike smirked, earning a small smile from the Slayer.  
  
"Oh, coat. Right." Willow muttered, giving Buffy a small smile.  
  
"So, uh. How do you feel?" Dawn asked tentatively.  
  
"Like someone drove a sword through my gut." Buffy grumbled, lifting her shirt to reveal the bloodied wrap around her middle.  
  
"Was a fire poker." Spike said conversationally. Willow and Dawn glared at him while Buffy just looked confused. He sighed, dropping his arms to the sides. "Pet, what do you remember?" He asked softly, his eyes not leaving the blonde.  
  
Bufy looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "I don't know. I remember the mansion, a-and then. uh, the dog. And Dru. Dru was there." Buffy stated, speaking in short sentences. She was staring at the ground, as if she were digging deeply for the bits of information. "I. I killed her. Hope showed up, and then I killed Dru."  
  
"That's it? You don't remember what happened after that?" Dawn asked, looking sympathetic.  
  
Buffy thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "No."  
  
"So, you don't remember Spike?" Willow asked softly, giving the vampire a quick glance.  
  
Buffy shook her head again, looking over at him as well. "What happened?"  
  
He swallowed, shifting his weight. He looked over at Dawn and Willow, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Do you think."  
  
"We'll be back in a little bit." Dawn said, cutting him off. She gave her sister a small smile before heading towards the door.  
  
"You want us to get you anything, Buff? Food?" Willow asked, tailing after the brunette. Buffy shook her head. Willow smiled, nodding, before disappearing out the door.  
  
An uneasy silence fell over the pair as the door shut, leaving them alone in the dim light of the hospital room. Spike took a deep breath before looking up, eyes locking with the Slayers. "We fought. Me an' you. We fought.. and I won."  
  
Buffy's eyes narrowed a bit, her brain trying to remember anything about he was saying. It didn't work. "Why?"  
  
Spike sighed, pulling his hands from his pockets and walking over to the bed. He took a seat at the end of it, resting his hands in his lap and looking to the floor. "The dog thing. made me a bit crazy."  
  
"The demon.." Buffy said softly, confirming that she knew what he was talking about. "But I thought that only worked on humans?" She questioned, her confused expression returning.  
  
"So did I." He muttered, running a hand through his hair.  
  
"But then why."  
  
The vampire shrugged, remaining silent.  
  
"Spike?" Buffy questioned, looking skeptical. "What is it?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
She narrowed her eyes a bit, watching him intently. "You know why, don't you?" He remained quite. "Spike. Why?" she said flatly, her voice stern.  
  
"Human characteristics, maybe." he mumbled, his voice nearly silent.  
  
"It worked because you look human?"  
  
He shook his head. "No. Not on the outside.. on the inside." 


	18. chapter 18

"Spike?" Buffy asked quietly, trying to get a reaction from the vampire seated at the end of the bed. He had been completely silent for the past few minutes, his eyes locked on the floor, careful to avoid her. She had known from the time he had showed up that there was something he wasn't telling her, but it wasn't until now that she realized how serious it really was. Spike never clammed up. She swallowed, pulling the blanket from her lap and maneuvering herself on the bed so she was sitting beside him. "Spike?"

The vampire closed his eyes, rubbing the palm of his hand over his forehead. "Bloody hell…"

"Hey, come on. It can't be that bad, can it?" Buffy asked, giving him a reassuring smile as he gazed over his shoulder at her. The smile faded when she saw the look on his face. "Oh…"

He straightened a bit, a small nod confirming that, yes, it was that bad. "When I left… when I left, I never really planned on comin' back. I was just gonna leave, 'cause hell, I can't hurt you if I'm not here, right?" He looked over at her, a small pang going through his chest at the sight of her hurt expression. "Yeah, and that's why I couldn't… I knew that I'd hurt you that way, too. I remembered how you told me that everyone leaves, and in the end you'll wind up alone. I didn't want to be part of that. I wanted to stay here, I wanted to come back and stay with you, even if I couldn't have you."

"But you never came back…"

He shrugged. "Life has a way of muckin' up everyone's plans, 'specially mine." He said, taking a rather deep breath. "I went to Africa. I went halfway across the bloody world in search of a legend that I wasn't even sure existed. The thing could have been a pile of rocks for all I knew. Anyway, so I'm in Africa, some little run of the mill tiki lookin' village, huts and all, and I go into this big cave. And, as luck would have it, the thing was real. Scary lookin' bugger too, all lurkin' in the shadows and glowin' and whatnot."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, right, I'm gettin' a bit off topic, ain't I?"

"A little." Buffy confirmed, a small smirk planted on her lips.

"Right. So, me and Lurky make this little deal. If I could survive these trials, he'd grant me … something."

"Something?"

"Whatever I desired."

"And you passed the trials?"

"I'm alive, ain't I?" He replied.

"So you had to fight him." She stated matter of factly.

"Not him. A bunch of other demons, critters, all sorts of things."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, well. After I finished kickin' around some demon arse, Lurky pops up and tells me that he's going to give me what I wanted…"

"What was it?"

He looked down, twiddling with his fingers. "… to give me what I needed… so I could give you what you deserved." He mumbled, his voice nearly silent.

"The chip." She said flatly, hurt evident in her voice. "He deactivated the chip… so you could kill me."

The vampire shook his head, wincing at her harsh tone. "No. I thought that's what I wanted, but Lurky had other ideas. Yeah, the chip was deactivated, but that wasn't the grand prize, pet…"

"What happened, Spike? What did you get?"

He swallowed back the lump in his throat, his eyes not meeting hers. He couldn't say the words. "I can feel 'em. All of 'em. Everyone I've ever hurt, killed… I can feel you, and what I did to you. It burns. Sometimes I think that hell would have been better than this, it hurts so much. I'd do anything to make it stop, but at the same time, I'd do anything to keep it." He said softly, looking back up at her. "It's yours, Buffy. I got it for you…"

She was silent, staring at his in disbelief as realization washed over her. "… your soul…"

TBC…

A/N: yes, short chapter, but I haven't had much time to write anything new. I thought I'd get this out there just to hold you off for a bit J please keeps up the reviews!


End file.
